Funke Akindele Announces New Film The Four, Set for December
Nigeria’s highest-grossing filmmaker, actress, and producer Funke Akindele has announced her next feature film, “The Four: No One Fights Alone,” set for a global cinema release on December 11, 2026, extending an unbroken run of festive-season box office hits that has defined her recent career.
Produced by Funke Akindele Network (FAAN TV) and distributed by FilmOne Entertainment, the announcement marks the next chapter for one of Africa’s most commercially successful filmmakers, whose films have repeatedly rewritten Nigerian box office history. Described as a powerful, emotionally charged drama celebrating friendship, motherhood, resilience, and the strength of ordinary women, the film is set between the fictional Odu Community and the pulse of city life, following a woman named Esosa and three fiercely loyal women whose fight for the future of a young man they love tests their courage, faith, and loyalty.
Speaking on the project, which she wrote, directed, and produced, Akindele said audiences have grown with her over the years and expect stories that entertain while reflecting who they are, adding that “The Four” explores relationships that shape, challenge, and stay with people, and that she believes audiences will find a part of themselves in the story.
The film boasts a large, star-studded ensemble cast, with Akindele leading alongside Bisola Aiyeola, Chioma Akpotha, and Waje as the core group of four women at the centre of the story. The wider cast includes John Ekanem, Wunmi Toriola, Lateef Adedimeji, Ireoluwa Olaniyan, Ali Nuhu, Omotunde Adebowale-David (Lolo1), Mide Iwasokun, Kolapo Omotosho, Shoday, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Timini Egbuson, Uzor Arukwe, Ogbolor, Ronke Oshodi-Oke, and Antar Laniyan, alongside entertainment personalities Samuel Banks and Ayomide Iwasokun. The cast notably includes several former Big Brother Naija housemates, further widening the film’s cross-industry appeal.
The announcement comes on the back of another landmark year at the box office for Akindele, who has built a reputation for delivering major theatrical releases during Nigeria’s December cinema season. Her filmography includes a string of record-breaking hits such as “Omo Ghetto: The Saga,” “Battle on Buka Street,” “A Tribe Called Judah,” which earned more than ₦1.4 billion and set a Nollywood box office record at the time, “Everybody Loves Jenifa,” and last year’s “Behind the Scenes.” That consistent run has cemented her position as Nigeria’s highest-grossing filmmaker and one of the continent’s most influential creative voices.
With its blend of music, fashion, language, and tradition woven into the storytelling, “The Four” is being positioned as a celebration of Nigerian cultural identity alongside its central themes of hope, sacrifice, and unity. With an ensemble cast this large and Akindele’s consistent record of box-office success behind the project, expectations are already running high ahead of the film’s December release.
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