Box office results of K-Pop stars’ live performance films

The popularity of "live performance films" is continuing to rise in South Korean theaters. In February of this year, the concert film BTS: Yet To Come in Cinemas by the group BTS attracted 920,000 viewers to theaters. In March, trot singer Lim Young-woong's IM HERO THE FINAL gathered 250,000 viewers. Following these, a live performance film has been released almost every month, revitalizing the Korean theaters in 2023. As of now, 11 films have been released, and two more are scheduled for November and December. These films have become a new source of energy for Korean theaters, which have seen a decline in audience numbers after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Most of the live performance films released or scheduled to be released this year have been exclusively shown in major multiplex cinemas such as CGV, Lotte Cinema, and Megabox. Not only the films of BTS and Lim Young-woong but also 2022 YOUNGTAK CONCERT : THE MOVIE, KANG DANIEL: MY PARADE, SEOTAIJI 25 LIVE TIME : TRAVELER, IU CONCERT : The Golden Hour, Meet by the Wind: Kim Ho-jung's Season, and BE TOGETHER are all exclusively released by CGV. Additionally, BAEK Z YOUNG CONCERT IN CINEMA released in November was only available at Lotte Cinema, and MY SHINee WORLD was exclusive to Megabox.

Due to the decrease in audience numbers in Korean theaters caused by the spread of COVID-19 and the explosive increase in the number of online streaming platform users, major companies that handle both theater operation and distribution have started to produce and distribute live performance films as one of their survival strategies. Most live performance films released exclusively by each theater have been distributed by the same group company.

One significant reason why live performance films could contribute even more to the vitality of theaters is the high ticket prices. In fact, IU CONCERT : The Golden Hour was priced at 22,000 KRW, and MY SHINee WORLD at 23,000 KRW, with no telecom discounts applied. The ticket prices for live performance films are set higher than the ticket prices for general films during the prime weekend hours, reaching 15,000 KRW, allowing them to generate about 1.5 times the revenue per seat compared to a general film. The audience of the live performance movie, which is mainly the singer's fandom, can feel much cheaper than the price of concert tickets, which are around 150,000 KRW.

In fact, the cumulative box office revenue of live performance films is more than twice as high as that of general films with a similar number of viewers. As of the 22nd of this month, IU CONCERT : The Golden Hour with 87,628 viewers has recorded about 2 billion KRW in revenue, while the film NEW NORMAL which was seen by 10,000 people more, has not yet surpassed 1 billion in cumulative revenue with 99,910 viewers. Currently, Korean theaters are achieving effective results through the 'One Source Multi-Use' strategy, collaborating with domestic singers known as 'K-pop stars.'

◆ Cumulative Audience Numbers of Live Performance Films Released in 2023 (As of November 21, based on the Integrated Admission Ticket Network Statistics)

1. IM HERO THE FINAL (Released on March 1) 250,702 viewers

2. BTS: Yet To Come in Cinemas (Released on February 1) 92,539 viewers

3. IU CONCERT : The Golden Hour (Released on September 13) 87,628 viewers

4. Meet by the Wind: Kim Ho-jung's Season (Released on October 18) 54,388 viewers

5. MY SHINee WORLD (Released on November 3) 22,511 viewers

6. BE TOGETHER (Released on November 15) 15,381 viewers

7. KANG DANIEL: MY PARADE (Released on August 30) 7,933 viewers

8. LYNK-POP : THE 1st VR Concert - aespa (Released on October 25) 7,313 viewers

9. SEOTAIJI 25 LIVE TIME : TRAVELER (Released on September 6) 5,924 viewers

10. WINNER 2022 CONCERT THE CIRCLE : THE MOVIE (Released on January 25) 4,166 viewers 

11. BAEK Z YOUNG CONCERT IN CINEMA (Released on November 10) 1,501 viewers

◆ Scheduled Release Dates for Live Performance Films in 2023

November 29: Beyond LIVE - TAEMIN : N.G.D.A

December 6: NCT NATION : To The World in Cinemas