JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – TWO more contestants have fallen by the wayside in the race to set a new Guinness World record for the longest time spent watching movies.

Delon Munian and David Erasmus were disqualified after falling asleep at dawn on Thursday.

At 08h55, the remaining four contestants had clocked 65 hours 3 minutes, putting them over the half-way mark.

The rules of the record attempt state that contestants may not sleep or take their eyes off the screen while watching the movie, and they are allowed only a ten minute rest break between movies. Movies have to be at least 90 minutes in length, and they must watch the entire film until the credits end.

“We’re over halfway now and we’re cheering for our remaining contestants to beat the clock and make it to Sunday afternoon. This is a tremendously gruelling event which will push our contestants to the limit,” said Jacqui O’Sullivan, Managing Executive for Group Communication and Public Relations at Telkom.

The current record stands at 120 hours 23 minutes, and the contestants are attempting to spend over 122 hours watching movies delivered via Telkom’s BOLTSPEED fibre. This is the first time the record has been attempted by streaming content over high-speed internet.

On Thursday morning, Buhlebethu Hlatswayo was disqualified after falling asleep while Aqeel Dockrat voluntarily withdrew due to ill health on Wednesday.

Three others were disqualified on the same day: Tibor Donatus Kurucz, Tiberius Tjo and Louis Marx fell asleep for between seven and 20 minutes each, after they had been participating for 12 hours 42 minutes, 14 hours 22 minutes, and 14 hours 5 minutes respectively.

Thulisile Madyo declined her place shortly before the competition started on Tuesday afternoon and was replaced by Louis.

Suresh Joachim, an international endurance competitor who holds multiple titles, is participating.

The Telkom Unlimited Movie Marathon is taking place at the Sheds in Newtown, Johannesburg.

– CAJ News