Nollywood has a new Guinness World Records title after Black Market drew more than 51,000 qualifying viewers to Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos, for its record-breaking screening on Saturday, September 26.
Guinness World Records officially recognised 51,000 viewers as the qualifying attendance, putting the Nigerian crime thriller ahead of the previous record of 43,624 people who watched the Filipino film Felix Manalo at the Philippine Arena in 2015. The new figure represents an increase of 7,376 viewers over the previous benchmark.
The turnout at TBS was considerably larger than the final Guinness count. Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat announced that 64,000 people had attended the event, but the Guinness measurement was based on spectators who remained at the venue from the beginning of the film until the end of the screening.
The record attempt was built around an unusual premiere concept. Rather than taking Black Market through a conventional cinema premiere, the filmmakers turned the expansive TBS grounds into a temporary cinema, with the organisers initially setting a target of 50,000 simultaneous viewers.
The gates opened at 2pm, with the red carpet beginning around 3pm before the main screening later in the evening. The event also featured music, food, games and other activities as thousands of movie lovers arrived at the Lagos landmark. Reports from earlier in the day showed long queues forming around TBS as attendees made their way into the venue.
Black Market is directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay, who co-wrote the screenplay with Abdul Tijani-Ahmed. The film was shot in Abeokuta, Ogun State, and features Lateef Adedimeji, Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Ibrahim Yekini, popularly known as Itele D Icon, Scarlet Gomez, Omowunmi Dada, Teniola Aladese, Susan Pwajok and Uzor Arukwe. Other cast members include Folagade Banks, Tomiwa Tegbe, Andrew Yaw Bunting, Shamz Garuba and Adeoluwa Akintoba.
The project comes from Rixel Studios, with FilmOne Studios, Signet Ring Studios and Switch Visuals Production involved in the record-setting premiere. It is the second feature from Rixel Studios following Red Circle, which was released in 2025.
For the filmmakers, the Guinness attempt was part of a deliberate effort to make the release bigger than a conventional film premiere. Omowunmi Dada, who is also an executive producer on Black Market, previously explained that the team wanted to create an experience that could extend beyond the usual cinema rollout and become a wider cultural event. She said the idea had been part of the project from the early stages, with the team securing TBS even before principal photography began.
The record attempt also received backing from the Lagos State Government, while several brands and organisations supported the large-scale event. Earlier reports identified MTN, Puma, Swoop, PlaystreetNG, Oraimo and Shuttlers among the partners involved, alongside the Lagos State Ministry of Culture.
With the 51,000 qualifying viewers now recognised by Guinness World Records, Black Market has turned its unusual premiere strategy into an officially recognised world record, giving the Nigerian film industry another entry in the global record books.
