The National Film and Video Censors Board has disclosed that it approved and classified a total of 1,185 films between January and December 2025.

The figure represents an increase when compared to the 1,088 films classified by the board in 2024, indicating a rise in film submissions within the period under review.

The Director of Corporate Affairs of the board, Ogbonna Onwumere, made this known in a statement issued on Wednesday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.

Onwumere explained that the increase in film approvals reflected sustained growth in Nigeria’s film industry, as well as a high level of activity among filmmakers and distributors across the country.

He stated that the films classified during the year spanned various genres and languages, underscoring the vibrancy of local productions and the continued submission of foreign-language titles for classification by the board.

According to him, English-language films accounted for the highest number of approvals recorded in 2025.

”Yoruba and Igbo films followed, while Hausa and other indigenous Nigerian language films appeared less frequently,” he said.

Onwumere, however, noted that there was a broader representation of indigenous languages such as Nupe, Berom and Gbagyi, particularly in September 2025.

He further revealed that audience ratings data showed a strong concentration of films classified under the 15 and 18 categories throughout the year, suggesting that most of the films approved in 2025 were targeted at mature audiences.

”In terms of audience ratings, data revealed a strong concentration of films classified under 15 and 18 ratings across all months, suggesting that most of the films approved in 2025 were targeted at mature audiences.

”Family-friendly classifications such as G, PG and 12A were comparatively fewer, pointing to limited production of children’s and general-audience content,” he said.

A monthly breakdown of the approvals showed that May 2025 recorded the highest number of classifications, with a total of 173 films approved during the month.

Onwumere reiterated the board’s commitment to promoting diversity in film production, encouraging greater investment in family-friendly content and increasing the use of indigenous Nigerian languages in filmmaking.

He added that the board had taken steps to support this goal by reducing classification fees for films produced in indigenous languages other than Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa, in order to encourage more submissions.