The live viewing event of BTS’ Seoul concert on March 12 has set the record for the highest grossing worldwide event cinema release.
BTS held their “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage-Seoul” concert on March 10, 12 and 13 at the Seoul Olympic Stadium.
According to Trafalgar Releasing, which presented the “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage-Seoul: Live Viewing” event together with HYBE, the March 12 concert was shown live in 3,711 theaters in 75 countries and regions including the US, Japan and the Philippines. It was the first live worldwide cinema broadcast of a concert from South Korea.
It said the theater live viewing of the BTS concert broke the global event cinema record with a worldwide box office gross of $32.6 million.
According to the Event Cinema Association, an event cinema, or alternative content, is “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.” The content includes sport, opera, concerts, musicals, ballet, one-off TV specials, current affairs, documentaries, comedy, art gallery exhibitions and live gaming.
In North America, “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage-Seoul: Live Viewing” grabbed second place at the box office for March 12, grossing $.6.84 million from 803 movie theaters or a per screen average of $8,518, according to Box Office Mojo.
“As the pandemic made it difficult to access the concert venue, we wanted to create an opportunity for fans to gather and watch the concert together. We came up with the idea of ‘LIVE VIEWING’ at cinemas and are delighted to offer an alternative experience for fans to enjoy the concert live,” said HYBE 360 President DJ Kim.
Marc Allenby, CEO of Trafalgar Releasing said, “We are delighted with the record-breaking success of this project, not only for Trafalgar Releasing but the event cinema industry as a whole. It’s a testament to both the overwhelmingly dedicated fandom of the ARMY and the overall return to cinemas on a global scale.”
BTS’ Seoul concert is the first face-to-face concert held in nearly two and a half years since October 2019. The three-day event was attended in person by 45,000 fans, the maximum number allowed by the Korean government due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The “BTS Permission to Dance on Stage-Seoul: Live Viewing” is the fourth global release by HYBE and Trafalgar Releasing after the 2018’s ‘Burn The Stage: The Movie,” 2019’s “Bring The Soul: The Movie” and 2020’s “Break The Silence: The Movie.”