Nigeria Opens 2026 Oscar Submissions As Colours Of Fire Heads To Netflix

Nigeria’s film industry marked two milestones in early August 2026: the Nigerian Official Selection Committee (NOSC) opened submissions for the country’s entry to the 99th Academy Awards, and director Niyi Akinmolayan’s “Colours of Fire” began streaming on Netflix across Africa, according to a report from Nollywood Distilled.

“Colours of Fire” started streaming on Netflix on August 7, 2026, following its December 2025 theatrical run. The deal marks Netflix’s fifth Nigerian post-theatrical licensing agreement of the year, joining previously acquired titles including “Behind the Scenes,” “Gingerrr,” and “King of Thieves,” and underscoring the streamer’s continued appetite for Nigerian box office hits once their cinema runs wind down.

Separately, the NOSC opened submissions for Nigeria’s pick in the International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards, with a deadline of August 31, 2026. The Academy has introduced notable rule changes this year: films can now qualify for consideration either through the traditional country-submission route or by winning specified awards at approved international festivals, and it is the film itself, rather than the submitting country, that will be recognized as the nominee going forward, with the director accepting the statuette on the creative team’s behalf in the event of a win.

Both developments point to a Nigerian film industry increasingly built for two audiences at once: theatrical crowds at home, where romantic comedies and dramas have been quietly setting box office records through the first half of 2026, and international distributors and awards bodies looking for the next Nigerian breakout. Nollywood watchers have also been compiling recommendations like the Detty December Nollywood watchlist, a sign that the industry’s output is being tracked and curated for audiences well beyond Nigeria’s borders.

Whichever film the NOSC ultimately submits for Oscar consideration, the timing puts Nigerian cinema in an unusually strong negotiating position: a growing slate of Netflix deals for proof of commercial success, and a widened Academy pathway that no longer forces submissions through a single national bottleneck.