Nollywood crime thriller Black Market has secured a Guinness World Record after 51,000 people watched the film at a single screening in Lagos.
Gatekeepers News reports that the record-breaking screening took place on Saturday, September 26, at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), where thousands of movie lovers gathered for the premiere and the record attempt.
Guinness World Records confirmed 51,000 as the qualifying attendance after the screening. The figure was based on viewers who remained at the venue from the beginning to the end of the movie.
The achievement surpassed the previous record of 43,624 viewers, set in 2015 during a screening of the Filipino film Felix Manalo at the Philippine Arena.
Organisers had targeted at least 50,000 simultaneous viewers for the Lagos screening. The gates opened at about 2pm, while the red carpet began around 3pm before the main screening commenced at approximately 7pm.
The event attracted a large crowd, with long queues reported around TBS as movie lovers arrived several hours before the screening.
Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat had earlier said 64,000 people attended the event. However, the figure recognised for the Guinness World Record was 51,000, based on those who watched the film throughout the screening.
Following confirmation of the record, the announcement was met with cheers and celebrations at the venue.
FilmOne Entertainment, one of the companies involved in the production and distribution of the movie, celebrated the achievement on social media.
“51,000+ people. One screen. One moment that just made history,” the company said.
The company added: “We’ve officially set a WORLD RECORD for the Largest Audience Gathering Ever for a Movie Screening.”
The screening was attended by Hamzat, Lagos Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture Toke Benson, and several Nollywood actors, including Lateef Adedimeji, Kunle Remi, Stan Nze, Linda Ejiofor, Gabriel Afolayan and Kunle Afolayan.
Black Market was directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay and co-written by Gimsay and Abdul Tijani-Ahmed. The film follows five women involved in a cross-border smuggling operation whose lives are disrupted after the daughter of one of them is kidnapped.
The cast includes Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Lateef Adedimeji, Omowunmi Dada, Scarlet Gomez, Teniola Aladese, Susan Pwajok, Itele D Icon and Uzor Arukwe.
The screening was organised by Rixel Studios in collaboration with FilmOne Studios, Signet Ring Studios and Switch Visuals Production.
