Nora Awolowo’s upcoming film Black Market has sold more than 15,000 tickets ahead of its September 26 premiere at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos, as the production team pushes towards an ambitious Guinness World Records attempt.
Nora shared the milestone on Instagram, saying more than 15,000 people had already bought tickets for the event. The promotional material accompanying the announcement states that 35,000 tickets remain to reach the organisers’ 50,000 person target.
The September event was announced in July as an unusual launch for the Rixel Studios production. Instead of a conventional premiere attended by invited industry guests and selected members of the public, the filmmakers plan to stage a large scale screening before tens of thousands of people at one venue.
Rixel Studios is collaborating with FilmOne Studios, Signet Ring Studios and Switch Visuals Production on the project. The production company described Black Market as its second feature following Red Circle, which was released in 2025.
The Guinness attempt is based on the record for the largest attendance at a film screening. Guinness World Records lists the current record at 43,624 people, achieved by Iglesia Ni Cristo during the screening of Felix Manalo at the Philippine Arena in the Philippines on October 4, 2015. The same event also holds Guinness records for the largest audience at a film premiere and the largest paying audience at a film premiere.
At 50,000 people, the Nigerian production would need to attract more than 6,000 people above the existing record. However, the final result will depend on the actual attendance and whether the event satisfies Guinness World Records’ verification requirements.
Beyond the record attempt, Black Market is also notable for the young team behind it. Nora leads Rixel Studios, while Fatimah Binta Gimsay directs the film and shares writing credits with Abdul Tijani-Ahmed. The cast is led by Lateef Adedimeji and Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, with Omowunmi Dada, Itele D Icon, Scarlet Gomez, Teniola Aladese, Susan Pwajok, Uzor Arukwe, Folagade Banks and Tomiwa Tegbe among the other actors attached to the project.
The story follows five market women involved in cross border fuel smuggling whose lives become complicated after the daughter of one of them is kidnapped. Their attempt to deal with the situation forms the central conflict of the crime drama.
The film also represents the next step for Rixel Studios after Red Circle. The company has said that the experience gained from its first feature helped shape its approach to the new project, with Nora describing the team’s desire to keep looking for creative ways to push boundaries in filmmaking.
For Nigerian cinema, the September event presents an experiment in audience mobilisation at a scale that is rarely attempted around a local film. Rather than making the premiere solely a promotional stop before a wider theatrical release, the filmmakers have made the gathering itself part of the attraction surrounding the movie.
The ticket campaign will now be crucial to the plan. The promotional material lists regular admission at ₦2,000 and VIP tickets at ₦50,000, giving the public different options for attending the event.
The 15,000 ticket milestone gives the organisers an early indication of public interest, but the remaining sales will determine whether the event can approach the scale envisioned by the production team. The difference between tickets sold and people who actually turn up will also become important on the day of the screening.
If the filmmakers eventually meet their attendance target and the attempt is verified by Guinness World Records, Black Market would secure a place in the record books while giving its young production company an unusually large platform for its second feature.
For now, the attention remains on September 26, when the film, its cast and thousands of Nigerian moviegoers will converge at Tafawa Balewa Square for an event that could become one of the most ambitious film premieres ever staged in Nigeria.
