Three major films have been confirmed for cinema release in December 2026, among them a Mo Abudu adaptation and fresh titles from Funke Akindele and Toyin Abraham, so Detty December movies will be crowding Nigerian cinemas this year. Filmmakers now treat the festive season as a key window, since audiences want something to watch over Christmas and New Year.
Another busy season is on the way for Nollywood, with some of the country's leading filmmakers preparing to bring new work back to cinema audiences. Several eagerly awaited titles already sit on the December cinema schedule.
Buzz around a film does not mean it is heading for the big screen, however. Based on announcements made up to November 8, only three Nigerian titles have locked in December showings in cinemas. We look at those three productions, and say plainly where each one will open.
Detty December movies at a glance
- The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives: December 4
- The Four: No One Fights Alone: December 11
- Bestie: December 16
1. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives – December 4
Among the big Nigerian films due in December is The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives, which adapts Lola Shoneyin's celebrated 2010 book of the same name.
The film, made by Mo Abudu's EbonyLife Films and helmed by Daniel Oriahi, deals with matrimony, envy, childlessness and hidden family secrets.
At its heart is Baba Segi, a rich Yoruba patriarch whose home is plunged into chaos when Bolanle, the fourth wife and the only one with a university education, joins the family; her failure to conceive prompts questions about the secrets the household has long kept.
Odunlade Adekola plays Baba Segi in the film, with Iyabo Ojo, Mercy Aigbe, Bimbo Ademoye and Omowunmi Dada among his co-stars. Nancy Isime, Bisola Aiyeola, Uzor Arukwe and Mike Ezuruonye complete the supporting line-up.
Toronto International Film Festival organisers have also picked the production for the 2026 edition's Centrepiece programme. It reaches Nigerian screens on December 4, when its cinema release begins, which places it among the Detty December movies attracting the most conversation.
2. The Four: No One Fights Alone – December 11
Funke Akindele is back on the big screen in The Four: No One Fights Alone, a film exploring the strength women can show, as well as touching on motherhood, friendship and sacrifice.
Akindele wrote, directed and produced the film. Its plot follow Esosa and three other women who join forces to protect the prospects of a beloved young man, and the ordeal puts their bravery, faith and loyalty to the test.
Funke Akindele leads a large ensemble that also includes Bisola Aiyeola, Chioma Akpotha, Waje, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Timini Egbuson, Lateef Adedimeji, Ali Nuhu, Uzor Arukwe and Wunmi Toriola.
The afrobeats singer Shoday appears too, as do other figures from the entertainment world.
FilmOne Entertainment is handling distribution, and the film will reach cinemas across the country on December 11.
Akindele arrives on the back of several recent box-office hits, among them A Tribe Called Judah, Everybody Loves Jenifa and Behind the Scenes, which places her newest work firmly among the movies to watch during this year's festive Detty December period.
3. Bestie – December 16 in Detty December movies
Toyin Abraham is likewise heading back to cinema screens with Bestie, a fresh production that is set to premiere in cinemas across the country on December 16.
Abraham unveiled the film in September and confirmed the December date on her social media pages.
The plot was largely kept secret at first, but the cast that has been announced features Abraham herself, Pete Edochie, Sola Sobowale, Maurice Sam, Reminisce and Opeyemi Ayanwale, who is widely known as Imisi.
She is also in the director's chair, and she hopes her new project will repeat the triumph of Oversabi Aunty, her last theatrical release, which, according to [source], earned over ₦1 billion from ticket sales in Nigeria.
The film arrives in cinemas on December 16, a mere five days following Funke Akindele's The Four, meaning both will be vying for audiences throughout the same festive-season period. Anyone putting together a Detty December movie plan would do well to make an early note of all three dates given above.
