Nollywood has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest audience gathered for a movie screening after more than 51,000 people turned up at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos, to watch the crime thriller Black Market.
The record was confirmed at the screening on Saturday night, with Guinness World Records recognising 51,000 attendees as the qualifying audience for the feat.
FilmOne, the distributor of the movie, announced the achievement on its social media platforms following the screening.
“51,000+ people. One screen. One moment that just made history,” the company said.
“We’ve officially set a WORLD RECORD for the Largest Audience Gathering Ever for a Movie Screening.”
The distributor added, “Nigeria, we didn’t just watch a movie. WE MADE HISTORY.”
The record-breaking event drew thousands of movie lovers to TBS, with large crowds arriving hours before the screening and long queues reportedly extending towards the TBS roundabout.
The event was initially conceived as an attempt to attract 50,000 people to a single-location movie screening and surpass the previous record. Earlier reports had identified the existing benchmark as 43,624 attendees recorded at the Philippine Arena in 2015 during a screening of Felix Manalo.
The gates opened at 2pm, while the red carpet began at about 3pm. The main screening was scheduled for the evening, with the event also featuring music, food, games and appearances by celebrities and public figures.
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Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, was among those who attended the event, arriving at the venue at about 8:50pm.
Other celebrities spotted at the screening included Gabriel Afolayan, Real Warri Pikin and Tomi Ojo.
Black Market is produced by Rixel Studios in collaboration with Signet Ring Studios and FilmOne Studios, while FilmOne handled distribution. The film is directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay and produced by Nora Awolowo.
The crime thriller features Omowunmi Dada, Lateef Adedimeji, Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Scarlet Gomez, Teniola Aladese, Susan Pwajok, Ibrahim Yekini, popularly known as Itele D Icon, and Uzor Arukwe, among others.
The film follows five women involved in a cross-border smuggling operation amid fuel scarcity and economic pressures. Their activities take a dramatic turn after the daughter of one of the women is kidnapped, forcing the group into a dangerous attempt to secure her release.
The record-breaking premiere was supported by the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, alongside corporate partners.
The event had been promoted as an ambitious attempt to create a landmark moment for Nigerian cinema, with organisers describing the mass screening as an opportunity to showcase the scale of Nollywood to a global audience.
The achievement makes the Black Market screening one of the largest single-location movie gatherings recorded globally and adds another international milestone to Nollywood’s growing profile.