“BLACKPINK: The Movie,” featuring K-pop girl group BLACKPINK, emerged as the highest-grossing “event cinema,” or alternative content, of 2021, according to its distributors.
CJ 4DPLEX and Trafalgar Releasing announced that “BLACKPINK: The Movie,” released on Aug. 4, grossed $4.8 million from under 100 territories.
According to the Event Cinema Association website, an event cinema (alternative content) “refers to the use of cinemas to screen a varied range of live and/or pre-recorded entertainment. These releases are typically categorized as content that is not a feature presentation and does not have a traditional theatrical window.”
“This is an evolving area that now incorporates content such as: sport, opera, concerts, musicals, ballet, one-off TV specials, current affairs, documentaries, comedy, art gallery exhibitions and live gaming. Event cinema is increasingly defined by its methodology of release rather than by the content. Typically this is a ‘one or two night only’ release strategy, often accompanied by encore screenings,” it added.
According to the distributors, “BLACKPINK: The Movie” delivered the highest number of admissions for an event cinema release in 2021 with 500,000 in total admissions. “BLACKPINK: The Movie” was released as part of BLACKPINK’s fifth anniversary and was made available in special formats ScreenX, 4DX and 4DX Screen.
From Aug. 4, “BLACKPINK: The Movie” has been screened in over 3,400 movie theaters on a limited engagement. The movie will be released in other parts of Asia when local restrictions are lifted.
“BLACKPINK: The Movie” reached No. 6 at the US box office on the Aug. 4 opening night and delivered the second highest per screen average for a release on 100+ screens, bested only by Disney’s “Jungle Cruise,” the distributors added.
The movie also became No. 1 in Mexico on Aug. 4 with cumulative total admissions now exceeding 120,000.
“BLACKPINK: The Movie” also became No. 3 across the weekend in Turkey behind “The Suicide Squad” and “Fast & Furious 9” while the movie drew 15,000 admissions and grossed $250,000 in Saudi Arabia.
On the other hand, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), from Aug. 4 to 18, “BLACKPINK: The Movie” garnered 14,946 in total admissions and gross of 195,437,000 won (about $166,822) in South Korea.