Nollywood has recorded another global milestone after Black Market, a crime thriller, set a Guinness World Record for the largest attendance at a film screening in a single location.
A total of 51,000 people watched the film during a screening held on Saturday at Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.
Thousands of movie lovers began arriving at the venue from about 2 pm, with long queues forming around TBS ahead of the screening, which started at about 7 pm.
We’re officially Amazing!!!!
51,000+ people. One screen. One moment that just made history.
We’ve officially set a WORLD RECORD for the Largest Audience Gathering Ever for a Movie Screening.
51,000+ people came together for the love of film, and what started as a screening… pic.twitter.com/Y1QsJuNkEH
— FilmOne Entertainment (@FilmOneng) September 26, 2026
Guinness World Records confirmed the 51,000 attendance after the event, clarifying that only viewers who remained from the beginning to the end of the film were counted.
The confirmation followed an earlier announcement by Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, that 64,000 people had attended the event.
The official confirmation triggered celebrations, cheers and fireworks at the venue.
NEW GUINESS WORLD RECORD
Congratulations to the Black Market on breaking the world record for largest audience gathered for a film screening
51,000! pic.twitter.com/R7qPO6dZlf
— (@AlbumTalksHQ) September 26, 2026
The organisers had set a target of 50,000 simultaneous viewers in a bid to break the previous record of 43,624 people, set by Iglesia Ni Cristo during a screening of Felix Manalo at The Philippine Arena in Ciudad de Victoria, Philippines, on October 4, 2015.
The Lagos event was attended by Commissioner for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Toke Benson, alongside Nollywood stars including Lateef Adedimeji, Kunle Remi, Stan Nze, Linda Ejiofor, Gabriel Afolayan and Kunle Afolayan.
Black Market was produced in collaboration with FilmOne Studios, Signet Ring Studios and Switch Visuals Production.
Directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay and co-written by Gimsay and Abdul Tijani-Ahmed, the film tells the story of five women involved in a cross-border smuggling operation whose lives are thrown into turmoil 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.
Gimsay had previously disclosed that breaking the world record was the goal she and her team had set for the project.
