Nollywood has officially broken a Guinness World Record as 51,000 people gathered at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in Lagos to watch the crime thriller 'Black Market' from start to finish, surpassing the previous record of 43,624 viewers set in the Philippines in 2015.
Record-Breaking Screening at Tafawa Balewa Square
The screening took place on Saturday, September 26, and was designed as a festival-like event rather than an ordinary movie premiere. According to Pulse Nigeria, the gates opened at 2 pm, followed by a red-carpet session around 3 pm, with the main screening scheduled for 7 pm. Music, food, and games were part of the programme, and long queues were reported around TBS as movie lovers arrived.
Guinness World Records recognised 51,000 viewers as the qualifying attendance, a figure based on people who remained at the screening from the beginning of the movie until the end. Interestingly, the total crowd at TBS was even larger, with Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat reportedly putting total attendance at about 64,000. The announcement of the record triggered cheers and fireworks at the venue.
The Film and Its Makers
'Black Market' is directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Abdul Tijani-Ahmed. The film follows five women caught up in a cross-border smuggling operation during a period of fuel scarcity and economic pressure. Their situation becomes more complicated when the daughter of one of the women is kidnapped.
The movie stars Lateef Adedimeji, Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Omowunmi Dada, Scarlet Gomez, Teniola Aladese, Susan Pwajok, Ibrahim Yekini (popularly known as Itele D Icon), and Uzor Arukwe, among others. The project brought together Rixel Studios, FilmOne Studios, Signet Ring Studios, and Switch Visuals Production, with support from the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and several corporate partners.
Record Attempt Was Planned Months in Advance
The record attempt was not a last-minute publicity stunt. The organisers had announced the plan months earlier, initially targeting 50,000 viewers. The previous record of 43,624 people was set in 2015 when the Filipino film 'Felix Manalo' was screened at the Philippine Arena.
For a film industry that has spent years taking Nigerian stories to increasingly larger audiences, 'Black Market' has now turned one of those audiences itself into part of the story, cementing Nollywood's global appeal and the power of communal film-watching experiences.
