Trafalgar Releasing and CJ 4DPlex partner on K-pop theatricals

The companies plan to release four concert films globally, starting this month with aespa: World Tour.
April 9, 2024

London-based distributor Trafalgar Releasing and Seoul’s CJ 4DPlex are powering up this year’s theatrical calendar with more concert movies.

The companies have signed a deal to produce and distribute four K-pop films globally in 2024, starting with this month’s release of aespa: World Tour (pictured). It’s the first concert film for the South Korean girl group Aespa, and will hit theaters in more than 45 countries starting April 24, after a Korean and Japanese premiere on April 10.

The other three pics will be announced later this year, and all of them are destined to launch in a mix of premium formats (ScreenX, 4DX, Ultra 4DX) and traditional cinema screens.

CJ 4DPlex developed and owns these formats that provide more immersive theatrical experiences, such as wider 270-degree screens, moving seats and wind effects. As of 2023, CJ was operating 792 4DX theaters and 379 ScreenX theaters around the world, working with 112 cinema partners in 74 countries. Its premium screens have proven to be quite lucrative; CJ’s 4DX screens, for example, generated almost US$50 million last year in the US market alone.

For its part, Trafalgar is well-versed in concert cinematic experiences, having managed distribution across Europe, Asia and South America for both Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé in partnership with AMC Theatres last year. 

And the company’s K-pop business dates back to 2018’s BTS: Burn the Stage the Movie, which grossed more than US$20 million worldwide. It has since released more films featuring top bands such as Blackpink, Monsta X and Seventeen, generating another US$120 million at the box office.

Concert movies—often packaging a professionally filmed concert with documentary-style footage exploring the lives of artists—have been around on the big screen for several decades. And it’s been a particularly successful entertainment format and brand extension for artists with kid-skewing or teen-heavy fanbases, as evidenced by Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011), Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008) and One Direction: This Is Us (2013), which are among the top five highest-grossing concert films of all time.

But the genre ascended to a new apex this past year, with The Eras Tour generating a whopping US$261 million in worldwide ticket sales and Renaissance doing US$44 million. These box-office performances have opened a lot of eyes to the market potential of concert films, and Trafalgar is especially bullish on how the popularity of K-pop could amp up this hot business trend even more. 

Image courtesy of Trafalgar Releasing

About The Author

Search

Menu

Brand Menu