Nollywood actress and filmmaker Funke Akindele congratulated Omowunmi Dada on X after the Nollywood film Black Market set a Guinness World Record for the largest audience at a single film screening.
A total of 51,000 people gathered to watch the crime thriller at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), Lagos, on Saturday, Sept. 26. Guinness World Records counted only viewers who stayed from the start to the end of the film. The total beat the previous record of 43,624, set in 2015 at a screening of the Filipino film Felix Manalo at the Philippine Arena.
Omowummi Dada, who stars in the film, announced the result on X the same night. “We are officially Guinness World Record Holders,” she wrote. Akindele replied on Sept. 27: “Congratulations dear. Nollywood to the world.”
Guinness World Records is reported to have confirmed the record on the screen at the venue, and the crowd responded with cheers and fireworks. FilmOne, the film’s distributor, posted a statement afterward. “Nigeria, we didn’t just watch a movie. WE MADE HISTORY,” it wrote.
Organizers had planned the attempt for months and set a target of 50,000 viewers. Gates opened at 2 p.m., the red carpet began at about 3 p.m., and the film played between 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. The event also included music, food and games. Lagos State Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat said 64,000 people attended, but Guinness said only the 51,000 who watched the full film qualified.
Fatimah Binta Gimsay directed Black Market, and Nora Awolowo produced it. Rixel Studios, Signet Ring Studios and FilmOne Studios made the film, and Switch Visuals Production organized the screening. The story follows five market women involved in a cross-border smuggling operation. The cast also includes Lateef Adedimeji, Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Scarlet Gomez, Teniola Aladese, Susan Pwajok, Itele D Icon and Uzor Arukwe. Arise News reported that it is the first Nollywood film to set a Guinness record of this kind.
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Fans filled the replies to Dada’s post with congratulations, and several attendees said they enjoyed the event. One user praised Akindele for regularly celebrating other people’s work.
Akindele holds box-office records of her own. Her 2025 film Behind the Scenes, released on Dec. 12, 2025, became the first Nollywood film to pass ₦2 billion, according to FilmOne. She is the highest-grossing director in Nigeria, with career earnings above ₦4.7 billion, and holds the record for the most Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards won by an actress.
