Nollywood crime thriller Black Market has drawn more than 51,000 qualifying viewers to a single screening at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos, with organisers and broadcasters reporting that a Guinness World Records official confirmed a new record at the event.

The screening took place on Saturday, September 26, after organisers set out to bring at least 50,000 people together to watch the film in one location.

The official qualifying attendance announced at the event was 51,000.

That figure exceeds the previous Guinness World Records benchmark of 43,624 people, set during the screening of the Filipino film Felix Manalo at the Philippine Arena in October 2015.

Thousands of moviegoers arrived at Tafawa Balewa Square for the Lagos premiere, with queues forming around the venue ahead of the screening.

The event included a red carpet, music, food and other entertainment before the film was shown.

FilmOne, which distributes Black Market, subsequently announced that the attempt had succeeded.

Channels Television and the Nigerian Television Authority also reported that a Guinness World Records official confirmed the qualifying attendance at the venue.

Black Market is directed by Fatimah Binta Gimsay and produced by Nora Awolowo, with other producers and production partners involved in the project.

The film follows a group of market women involved in a cross-border smuggling operation during a period of fuel scarcity and economic pressure.

Its cast includes Omowunmi Dada, Linda Ejiofor-Suleiman, Lateef Adedimeji, Scarlet Gomez, Teniola Aladese, Susan Pwajok, Ibrahim Yekini and Uzor Arukwe.

The screening was organised as both a film premiere and a deliberate attempt to break the existing audience record.

Lagos State Government supported the event through its tourism and creative-sector structures, while Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat was among those present.

One point still requires a little care in reporting the achievement.

When checked after the Lagos event, Guinness World Records' public website was still displaying the 2015 Felix Manalo attendance of 43,624 as the published record for the largest attendance at a film screening.

That does not necessarily contradict the confirmation reported from Lagos, as Guinness' online database may not update immediately after an adjudicated attempt.

But until the public record page reflects the Nigerian event, reports should distinguish between the confirmation announced at the venue and the record currently displayed on Guinness' website.

The 51,000 qualifying figure also differs from larger crowd estimates circulated around the event.

NTA reported that Lagos Deputy Governor Hamzat referred to an attendance figure of about 64,000, while 51,000 was the figure counted as qualifying for the record.

That distinction matters because Guinness record attempts generally rely on verified participation rather than general estimates of everyone who entered or gathered around a venue.

Whatever the eventual update to the public database, the Lagos screening demonstrated the scale at which Nigerian cinema can mobilise an audience around a theatrical event.

For Nollywood, the significance goes beyond the plot or box-office prospects of one film.

More than 50,000 people gathering in one location for a Nigerian movie is itself an unusual cultural event and gives Black Market a premiere that is likely to remain part of the industry's recent history.