The Nollywood movie ‘Black Market’ has made history as it got into the Guinness World Record with over 51,000 people at the movie screening in Lagos.
Glamtush reports that Nollywood has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest audience gathering for a movie screening, after more than 51,000 Nigerians gathered at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos to watch the crime thriller, ‘Black Market.’
GWR official confirmed the feat on the screen at the event on Saturday night by announcing that more than 51,000 people had attended the screening.
The announcement of the feat drew loud cheers, celebrations and fireworks from the crowd.
FilmOne, the film’s distributor, said in a statement shared on its social media platforms on Saturday that the gathering had officially set a world record.
FilmOne wrote, “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.”
The distributor added, “Nigeria, we didn’t just watch a movie. WE MADE HISTORY.”
The Tafawa Balewa Square was packed with movie lovers who turned up for the screening, with hundreds of attendees earlier trooping into the venue ahead of the event.
The gates opened at 2 pm, followed by a red-carpet session at about 3 pm, while the main screening was scheduled for between 7 pm and 8.30 pm.
The venue recorded a heavy turnout, with long queues stretching towards the TBS roundabout as movie lovers arrived for the event.
The event also featured music, food and games, while celebrities and other personalities were spotted at the venue.
Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Obafemi Hamzat, arrived at the venue at about 8.50pm. Among the celebrities spotted at the event were Gabriel Afolayan, Real Warri Pikin, Stan Nze, Biodun Stephen, Blessing Obasi, Femi Adebayo and many others.
Black Market is produced by Rixel Studios, Signet Ring Studios and FilmOne Studios, and distributed by FilmOne.
The film is directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay and produced by Nora Awolowo.
It stars 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.
The crime thriller follows five market women involved in a cross-border smuggling operation amid fuel scarcity and economic pressure.
The plot takes a dramatic turn after the daughter of one of the women is kidnapped.
The event was supported by the Lagos State Government through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, alongside several corporate partners.
The organisers had targeted 50,000 simultaneous viewers, aiming to surpass the previous record of 43,624 attendance benchmark set in 2015 during the screening of the Filipino film Felix Manalo at the Philippine Arena.
