“This is more than a film project. It’s an opportunity to create history and showcase Nigerian creativity and Nollywood on a global stage.” Ladun Awobokun, Chief Content Officer, FilmOne Studios
No African film has ever broken the Guinness World Record for the largest film screening at a single location. On September 26, 2026, a 27-year-old filmmaker from Lagos intends to change that with 50,000 people, one screen, and a story about five market women running a cross-border fuel smuggling ring in the middle of Nigeria’s economic chaos.
The film is called Black Market. The studio is Rixel Studios. And if this works, Tafawa Balewa Square the same ground where Nigeria declared independence in 1960 becomes the venue where Nollywood writes its name into a record book that has never had an African film in it.
And the woman driving it is 27 years old.
Who Is Nora Awolowo?
Before we talk about the record attempt, we need to talk about the person behind it. Because Nora Awolowo’s story is genuinely remarkable and it’s the context that makes everything about Black Market make sense.
Awolowo founded Rixel Studios at 19 years old. She taught herself photography first, then moved into cinematography and documentary filmmaking.
An accounting graduate by training, she broke through with the 2019 documentary Life at the Bay then kept building, quietly and consistently, while most people her age were still figuring out what they wanted to do.
She became the first Nigerian woman nominated for Best Cinematography at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards for her camerawork on the epic historical film Lisabi: The Uprising.
Along the way, Rixel Studios built commercial credibility through commissioned projects for FIFA, Canon, Guinness, and Showmax big names that don’t write cheques to studios they don’t believe in.
Then came Red Circle in 2025, Rixel’s debut theatrical feature, directed by Akay Mason and starring Folu Storms.
It earned ₦33.8 million on its first weekend and crossed ₦100 million within three weeks, making Awolowo, at 26, the youngest Nollywood producer to hit that box office milestone. The film went on an international screening tour across the UK.
One film in. One hundred million naira. International tour. Now a Guinness World Record attempt.
That’s the trajectory.
The Record Nobody Has Touched in 11 Years
Here’s what Black Market is chasing and how high the bar actually is.
The current Guinness World Record for the largest film screening at a single location has stood since October 4, 2015.
It was set at the Philippine Arena in Ciudad de Victoria, Philippines when 43,624 people gathered for the premiere of Felix Manalo, a biographical film about the founder of Iglesia Ni Cristo, organised by the church in partnership with VIVA Films.
The event simultaneously broke two Guinness records: largest attendance at a film screening and largest audience at a film premiere.
That record has stood untouched for nearly eleven years. On September 26, 2026, Black Market is aiming to bring 50,000 people to Tafawa Balewa Square to shatter it.
That’s 6,376 more people than the current record a margin that sounds comfortable on paper and is anything but easy to execute in practice.
Fifty thousand people in one location, simultaneously watching one film, officially verified by Guinness. The logistics alone are a production.
But that’s also exactly the kind of challenge Rixel Studios seems to exist for.
What Black Market Is Actually About
All the record talk is exciting. But the film itself deserves its own spotlight because the story is one that will hit close to home for anyone who has lived through Nigeria’s fuel scarcity seasons.
Black Market follows five market women who have built something extraordinary in the chaos of Nigeria’s fuel crisis: a tight, well-oiled cross-border fuel smuggling operation that runs with the precision of a military unit.
These aren’t criminals in the Hollywood sense, they’re survivors, entrepreneurs, women who looked at a broken system and found a way to make it work for them and their families.
Then everything changes. A rival abducts the daughter of one of the women, Adesua and what began as a story about economic survival becomes a desperate fight to protect both their livelihood and the bonds between them.
It’s crime drama. It’s sisterhood. It’s set against one of the most relatable economic backdrops in contemporary Nigerian life.
And it was shot entirely in Abeokuta, a detail that matters, because Nollywood is increasingly proving that world-class stories don’t require Lagos as their address.
The Woman Who Directed It: Fatimah Binta Gimsay
Gimsay co-wrote the script alongside Abdul Tijani-Ahmed and steps behind the camera on her first feature with a cast that would challenge seasoned directors.
She didn’t arrive here without credentials her short films Ijo, Laraba and Balarabe, Fine Girl, and Omozihave built her a reputation as a sharp, culturally grounded visual storyteller. Her writing credits include television shows Battleground and Riona, and feature films including Funke Akindele’s Finding Me.
Earlier this year, Fine Girl, Ijo, and Laraba and Balarabe became the first short films to premiere on Kava.
Now she’s making a Guinness World Record attempt as her feature debut. Nollywood’s next wave doesn’t announce itself slowly.
The Cast That Makes It a Must-Watch
The ensemble assembled for Black Market reads like a who’s-who of contemporary Nollywood:
- Lateef Adedimeji — one of the most in-demand actors in the industry right now, consistently delivering across genres
- Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman — whose work across screen and stage has earned her a dedicated, loyal audience
- Omowunmi Dada — also serving as co-executive producer, bringing both screen presence and institutional investment
- Ibrahim Yekini (Itele D Icon) — whose comedic timing and dramatic range make him one of the most watchable performers working today
- Susan Pwajok — serving as both cast member and executive producer
- Scarlet Gomez, Teniola Aladese, Uzor Arukwe, Folagade Banks, Tomiwa Tegbe, Andrew Yaw Bunting, Shamz Garuba, and Adeoluwa Akintoba
The production team includes Nora Awolowo and Nicole Ofoegbu as producers, with executive producers from Rixel, FilmOne, and Signet Ring Studios all aligned behind this project.
The Screening — Everything You Need to Know
World Record Premiere: September 26, 2026 — Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos
General Theatrical Release: October 2, 2026 — cinemas nationwide via FilmOne Distribution
Tickets: ₦2,000 (regular) | ₦50,000 (premium)
Raffle Draws: Every ticket holder is automatically entered prizes to be announced
Tickets: blackmarketmovie.com
The event is being handled by Switch Visuals Production under CEO Damilola Osikoya, a company that clearly understands the assignment.
This isn’t just about getting bodies through a gate. It’s about creating an experience that 50,000 people will talk about for the rest of their lives.
“The Guinness World Record for the largest simultaneous film audience has never been broken in Africa. On September 26th, 50,000 people will gather at Tafawa Balewa Square to change that forever. When the record is broken, everyone in that crowd becomes part of it. Not a spectator. Not a participant. This is our record to break, together.” Black Market official site
Why This Is About More Than a Film
The record Black Market is chasing was set by a church, for a film about their religious founder, in a controlled arena in the Philippines. The entire audience was essentially a pre-mobilised congregation.
That’s not a criticis, it’s context. Getting 43,624 people to one location when your organisation already has millions of members is a different challenge than what Rixel Studios is attempting.
What Rixel is doing is asking strangers ordinary Lagosians, Nollywood fans, curious Nigerians from all walks of life to show up, pay for their tickets, and collectively make history around a story that reflects their own lives.
Fuel scarcity. Market women. Economic pressure. Cross-border survival. This is not a niche story for a specific community. It’s a Nigerian story for Nigerian people.
As The Net’s reporting on Rixel put it: a successful record attempt would convert a movie premiere into “one of the most audacious marketing moments Nollywood has attempted” turning an audience into active participants in the history of their own film industry.
That’s what makes September 26 worth showing up for. Not just to watch a film. But to be in the room or rather, the square when Nollywood writes its name into a record book that has never had an African film in it.
Tickets are live at blackmarketmovie.com.
The record is waiting. And on September 26, 2026 50,000 people are going to break it.
Are you going to be one of them? Drop your thoughts in the comments and share this with someone who needs to be at TBS on September 26.