51,000 viewers gathered at Tafawa Balewa Square to watch Black Market, creating a record-breaking moment as the film drew one of the largest audiences for a movie screening.
The event brought together actors, filmmakers, entertainers and government officials, including
Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat, alongside personalities such as Gabriel
Afolayan, Real Warri Pikin and Tomi Ojo, and thousands of fans, all part of an ambitious
attempt to set a new Guinness World Records title and create a major moment for Nigerian
cinema.
The event was supported by the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Tourism,
Arts and Culture, alongside several corporate partners.
The historic screening was held on Saturday, September 26, 2026, with Guinness World
Records recognizing 51,000 qualifying viewers.
The excitement did not begin when the movie started. Movie lovers began arriving in the
the evening progressed, the venue continued to fill up.
From a Movie Premiere to 51,000 Viewers and a World Record
The goal was ambitious: gather at least 50,000 people in one place and beat the 2015
benchmark of 43,624 viewers, set at a screening of Felix Manalo at the Philippine Arena.
By the end of the night, that target had been exceeded. Guinness World Records
recognised 51,000 qualifying viewers, making Saturday’s screening the largest audience for a
film in a single location.
That figure counts only viewers who met the requirements, including staying from the first scene
to the last. The wider crowd at TBS was larger, with Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi
Hamzat putting total attendance at about 64,000.
FilmOne, the film’s distributor, announced the milestone on its social media pages. “51,000+
people. One screen. One moment that just made history,” the company said, adding that
Nigerians “didn’t just watch a movie” but “made history.”
At the center of it all was Black Market, a Nollywood crime thriller directed by Fatimah Binta
Gimsay and produced by Nora Awolowo. It is a Rixel Studios, Signet Ring Studios and
FilmOne Studios production, distributed by FilmOne.
The film follows five women involved in a cross-border smuggling operation whose lives take a
dangerous turn when the daughter of one of them is kidnapped. The cast includes 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.
By taking the premiere to Tafawa Balewa Square, the filmmakers turned a conventional launch
into a public event, and it showed how Nigerian entertainment keeps finding new ways to bring audiences together around local stories.
For those who stayed until the final scene, the night became more than a premiere. They became part of the record.
Written by Boluwatife Akinloose
Leave a Reply