‘Permission To Dance’: BTS Concert Sets New Global Box Office Record

KEY POINTS

BTS held three concerts in Seoul last week
"Permission to Dance" was third highest-earning cinema event in U.S. over weekend
The concert film earned $6.84 million in North America on March 12

BTS ruled in several theaters over the weekend and set a new global box office record as fans gathered to see the famous septet return on stage in Seoul for another round of the “Permission To Dance” concert series.

Following their short hiatus, Jin, RM, J-Hope, Suga, Jungkook, V and Jimin resumed their boy band duties for three shows in Seoul’s Jamsil Olympic Stadium held on March 10, March 12 and 13. The concerts on March 10 and 12 were streamed online to accommodate fans outside of South Korea and Saturday’s concert was broadcasted live in several theaters worldwide.

BTS' "Permission to Dance On Stage - Seoul: Live Viewing" earned $6.84 million in North America on Saturday across 803 theaters. This made the once-in-a-lifetime event the third highest-grossing cinema event over the weekend in the U.S. next to "The Batman” at No. 1 and “Uncharted” at the second spot.

Worldwide, the live screening of “Permission To Dance On Stage – Seoul” grossed a record-breaking $32.6 million from 3,711 cinemas in 75 countries with ticket sell-outs across the world. This movie theater turnout brought in a higher sum in a single day compared to any other Hollywood film shown during the pandemic.

“For a one-day gross to come in at this level, particularly the global number is mind-boggling and speaks to the power of a one-chance-only event to drive moviegoers to the cinema,” Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at an analytics company, told Variety.

The BTS live-concert event was so huge in the states that it even beat the Robert-Pattinson-led blockbuster in 55 movie theaters in North America over the weekend including theaters in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, Toronto, Vancouver and Salt Lake City.

“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,” Marc Allenby, CEO of Trafalgar Releasing said in a statement published in Deadline.

BTS’ label Hybe and Trafalgar Releasing jointly presented the three-hour live concert of the Bangtan Boys which featured the group’s greatest hits including “Black Swan,” “Fake Love” and “Butter.”