Black Market film sets Guinness World Record in Lagos

The Nollywood crime thriller ‘Black Market’ has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest audience at a film screening in a single location. On September 26, 2026, over 51,000 qualifying viewers gathered at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos to watch the premiere.

Guinness World Records verified the 51,000 figure based on spectators who remained from the beginning to the end of the film. This surpassed the previous record of 43,624 people set in 2015 during a screening of the Filipino film ‘Felix Manalo’. While Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat estimated the total crowd at approximately 64,000, the official record focuses on the qualifying audience.

Directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay and produced by a collaboration including Rixel Studios, FilmOne Studios, and Signet Ring Studios, the film follows five women involved in a cross-border smuggling operation. Nigerian President Bola Tinubu praised the achievement, noting that the success of the filmmakers demonstrates the talent and enterprise driving Nigeria’s creative economy.