Tinubu hails Black Market filmmakers over 51,000-viewer Guinness record

President Bola Tinubu has congratulated the producers behind the Black Market Guinness record, hailing Saturday’s 51,000-viewer screening in Lagos as a showcase of Nigerian talent and business muscle in a statement on Monday.

The message turns a weekend Nollywood milestone into a national talking point. It also puts two filmmakers, rather than the film’s star-studded cast, at the centre of the story.

The statement, signed by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, named Damilola Osikoya of Switch Visual Production and Nora Awolowo of Rixel Studios. It called the feat “further evidence of the extraordinary talent driving Nigeria’s creative industry”.

Tinubu linked the achievement to jobs, new businesses and fresh markets for Nigerian talent. He also repeated his government’s pledge to create more openings for young people to earn a living from their creativity.

How did Black Market set the Guinness record?

The film set the record on Saturday 26 September at Tafawa Balewa Square (TBS), with the screening starting at 7pm, Channels Television reported. Guinness World Records recognised 51,000 people as the qualifying audience.

Channels said about 64,000 people turned up in total. Only viewers who stayed from the first scene to the end were counted.

The previous record of 43,624 was set in 2015 at a screening of the Filipino film Felix Manalo at the Philippine Arena. Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat was among the guests at TBS, according to Channels.

Who made the record-breaking night happen?

Awolowo’s Rixel Studios led the production, working with FilmOne, Signet Ring Studios and Switch Visuals Production, Premium Times reported. Black Market is Rixel’s second feature after Red Circle.

Osikoya, chief executive of Switch Visuals, was credited as the event’s production producer and brought the sponsors on board, Pulse Nigeria reported. Describing the scale of the job, she said: “This was a live, unrepeatable event with 51,000 moving parts, and it had exactly one chance to work.”

The film is directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay, who co-wrote it with Abdul Tijani-Ahmed. Its cast includes Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Lateef Adedimeji, Omowunmi Dada, Uzor Arukwe and Ibrahim Yekini, better known as Itele D Icon.

Why does a presidential nod matter for Nollywood?

Official praise is useful currency for producers chasing sponsors, investors and cinema screens. Black Market has already shown that brands will back a bold idea: Osikoya publicly thanked Zenith Bank, Oraimo and the Lagos State Ministry of Culture and Tourism, among others.

The night also offers the industry a template. An event-scale premiere can turn a film into a public occasion, and a headline, before it reaches cinemas.

What happens next

Black Market’s cinema run begins in October, according to the Nigerian film site What Kept Me Up, with FilmOne handling distribution, Legit.ng reported. That is when the record-setting crowd has to become a paying audience.

Opening-weekend box-office figures will show whether the buzz from TBS travels indoors. Read the full State House statement.

Guinness has certified the crowd. October’s box office will decide what the record is worth.