‘Black Market’: 7 things to know about the Nollywood movie that just broke a Guinness World Record

• Nollywood’s Black Market has set a Guinness World Record for the largest audience at a film screening in a single location, with 51,000 qualifying viewers at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos.

• The crime thriller, directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay, features actors including Lateef Adedimeji, Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Omowunmi Dada, Scarlet Gomez and Susan Pwajok.

• The film surpassed the previous record of 43,624 viewers, set by the Filipino movie Felix Manalo in 2015.

The record was achieved on Saturday, September 26, 2026, when thousands of people gathered at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS) in Lagos to watch the film.

Guinness World Records recognised 51,000 qualifying viewers, surpassing the previous record of 43,624 people set during a 2015 screening of the Filipino film Felix Manalo at the Philippine Arena.

Here are seven things to know about the film behind the record-breaking moment.

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Black Market is a Nigerian crime thriller centred on five women involved in a cross-border smuggling operation.

The story takes a dramatic turn when the daughter of one of the women is kidnapped, putting the characters in an increasingly difficult situation.

The film was written by Fatimah Binta Gimsay and Abdul Tijani-Ahmed, combining crime, family and survival themes.

The film was directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay, who was also involved in writing the screenplay.

Gimsay had previously spoken about the scale of the project and the process of bringing the story to the screen. The film's trailer was released ahead of the planned record attempt, which had initially targeted an audience of 50,000 people.

Her role makes the achievement particularly notable, as the director is at the centre of both the film's creative direction and the historic screening.

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The film boasts an ensemble cast featuring Lateef Adedimeji, Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Omowunmi Dada, Scarlet Gomez, Teniola Aladese, Susan Pwajok, Ibrahim Yekini, popularly known as Itele D Icon, and Uzor Arukwe, among others.

The cast brought together established actors and younger performers for the crime thriller.

Rather than holding a conventional cinema premiere, the Black Market team took the film to Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos for a mass screening.

The gates opened in the afternoon, with a red-carpet session, entertainment, food and games taking place before the main screening. The film was screened later in the evening as thousands of people gathered at the venue.

The event was deliberately designed around the Guinness World Records attempt, with organisers initially aiming for at least 50,000 viewers.

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One of the most important details about the record is the difference between total attendance and qualifying attendance.

Reports put the overall crowd at around 64,000 people, with Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat among those who cited that figure.

However, Guinness World Records recognised 51,000 qualifying viewers. The qualifying figure was based on people who watched the film from the beginning through to the end, rather than everyone who attended the wider event.

That 51,000 figure is the one that counts for the Guinness World Records title.

Before Black Market, the record belonged to the 2015 screening of Felix Manalo, a Filipino biographical film.

That screening attracted 43,624 viewers at the Philippine Arena.

With 51,000 qualifying viewers, Black Market surpassed the previous mark by more than 7,000 people, making the Lagos screening the new record holder for the largest audience at a film screening in a single location.

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The Guinness World Records attempt was not announced at the last minute.

The filmmakers had publicly planned the September 26 screening and initially set their target at 50,000 viewers. Promotional activities, including the release of the official trailer, were carried out ahead of the event.

The project brought together Rixel Studios, Signet Ring Studios and FilmOne Studios, with FilmOne Entertainment handling distribution. Switch Visuals was involved in the record-setting screening event.

With 51,000 qualifying viewers officially recognised, Black Market has now turned what would ordinarily have been a film premiere into a record-setting moment for Nollywood.