From number one at the box office to 58 slots per day
On September 10th, Soobin live concert movie: All-Rounder was released in theaters in a rather special setting. This is not a regular feature film but uses materials from Soobin's three concert nights in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, which attracted a total of more than 40,000 spectators.
On the very first day, the work created a small phenomenon at the box office. According to Box Office Vietnam data quoted by the media, the film sold 5,356 tickets at one point, earning more than 1 billion VND and ranking first in revenue during the day. Then, at one point, the film screened more than 200 screenings. But more than a week later, the picture changed.
Box office data updated to September 19 shows that Soobin live concert movie: All-Rounder achieved a total revenue of about 7.9 billion VND, while the number of screenings is currently only about 58 screenings/day nationwide. The film has fallen behind commercial films that are dominating in screenings such as Len Huong and new films joining the race.
This development raises a bigger question than the revenue of a single film: After Vietnamese concerts are continuously brought to the big screen, will concert movie really become a new market?
A concert can generate revenue many times over
Regarding the business model, bringing concerts to theaters has an obvious advantage.
The largest costs for stage, sound, lighting, choreography and performance have been invested in live concerts. Images that originally served audiences at stadiums or arenas can then become materials for a new product.
With All-Rounder, the 109-minute film uses images from three shows but adds behind-the-scenes and a story about the production process. Thus, a concert after direct ticket sales continues to have its second commercial life cycle in theaters.
This is the attraction of concert movie. Artists do not necessarily have to create a completely new product from the beginning, but can extend the value of the investment they have made.
Cinemas also have new types of content in addition to feature films. Meanwhile, fans who miss concerts or want to experience them have more options with lower costs than a live performance ticket.
However, the nearly 8 billion VND revenue of Soobin's film also shows that the current scale is still relatively small compared to the commercial film market.
The change in screenings of All-Rounder shows the important characteristic of concert movie about the need that can be very large in a group of audiences but difficult to last.
In fact, the concert movie model does not necessarily need thousands of screenings per day like a commercial film. Gathering fans in certain time slots also helps create an atmosphere close to the concert, where audiences can sing and interact together. But that also shows limitations.
When most fandoms with demand bought tickets in the early days, ticket sales could decrease rapidly. To expand the scale, concert movie must convince even non-fans that the experience in the theater is quite different from watching online performances.
Soobin's case therefore shows the two sides of movie concerts in Vietnam.
On the one hand, nearly 8 billion VND in revenue from the images of the concert took place, showing that the commercial value of a music night does not necessarily end when the stage is off. Cinema movies can become a link in the exploitation chain including performance tickets, concert movies, live albums, online platforms and copyrights.
On the other hand, more than 58 screenings per day after the opening period also show that concert movie cannot be seen as a mainstream film.
Perhaps at the present time, instead of an independent "new market", concert movie is more suitable when considered a new business branch of the performing arts industry.
