Concert film


A concert film or concert movie is a film that showcases a live performance from the perspective of a concert goer, the subject of which is an extended live music performance or musicals.

Early history

One of the earliest-known concert films is the 1944 film Adventure in Music. Another early film is the 1948 picture Concert Magic. This concert features virtuoso violinist Yehudi Menuhin at the Charlie Chaplin Studios in 1947. Together with various artists, he performed classical and romantic works of famous composers such as Beethoven, Wieniawski, Bach, Paganini, and others.
The earliest known jazz concert film is the 1959 film Jazz on a Summer's Day. The film was recorded during the fifth annual Newport Jazz Festival. The earliest known rock concert film is Rock’n’Roll, a 1959 feature film produced by the promoter Lee Gordon. As it also features some Jazz performances and was released prior to Jazz on a Summer's Day, it arguably has claims to being the first Jazz concert film as well.
A latter notable concert film, the T.A.M.I. Show, featured acts such as The Beach Boys, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, and the Rolling Stones.
One of popular music's most ground-breaking concert films is Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, directed by Adrian Maben, in which Pink Floyd perform a short set of songs inside the amphitheatre of Pompeii without an audience.

Examples

Rockumentary

The term "rockumentary" was first used by Bill Drake in the 1969 History of Rock & Roll radio broadcast and is a portmanteau of "rock" and "documentary". The term was subsequently used to describe concert films containing appearances by multiple artists. Then, in 1976, the term was used by the promoters of the live musical production Beatlemania which documented the evolving career of The Beatles. The 1984 mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap notably parodied the rockumentary genre.

Others

Other examples of this type of film include Menudo's 1981 film, Menudo: La Película, and Duran Duran's 85-minute 1984 video, Sing Blue Silver. The former mixes a Menudo concert with movie scenes and a plot, while the latter follows Duran Duran as they travel around Canada and the United States doing concerts and actual tourism.

Highest-grossing concert films

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which has grossed $267 million worldwide, is the highest-grossing concert film of all time. The record was previously held by Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.
RankTitleYearPerformerTypeWorldwide gross
1Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour2023Taylor SwiftMusic$267,100,000
2Justin Bieber: Never Say Never2011Justin BieberMusic$99,034,125
3Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert2008Miley CyrusMusic$70,712,099
4One Direction: This Is Us2013One DirectionMusic$68,233,799
5Eddie Murphy Raw1987Eddie MurphyStand-up$50,504,655
6Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé2023BeyoncéMusic$44,389,684
72000Steve HarveyD.L. HughleyCedric the EntertainerBernie MacStand-up$38,236,338
8Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip1982Richard PryorStand-up$34,970,309
9Woodstock1970VariousMusic$34,699,266
10Katy Perry: Part of Me2012Katy PerryMusic$32,700,439
12Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain2013Kevin HartStand-up$32,327,255
13Metallica Through the Never2013MetallicaMusic$31,900,000
14Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience2009Jonas BrothersMusic$30,428,831
15BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas2023BTSMusic$29,291,883
16Madonna: Truth or Dare1991MadonnaMusic$29,012,935
17U2 3D2008U2Music$26,170,402
18Kevin Hart: What Now?2016Kevin HartStand-up$23,591,043
19Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat2002Martin LawrenceStand-up$19,184,820
20Glee: The 3D Concert Movie2011GleeMusic$17,462,398
21Richard Pryor: Here and Now1983Richard PryorStand-up$16,156,776
22Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers2021Religion$13,388,000
23You So Crazy1994Martin LawrenceStand-up$10,184,701
24Burn the Stage: The Movie2018BTSMusic$9,881,954
25U2: Rattle and Hum1988U2Music$8,600,823
26Live Broadcast from Buenos Aires2022ColdplayMusic$8,400,000
27Kevin Hart: Laugh at My Pain2011Kevin HartStand-up$7,712,436
28Mayday Life2019MaydayMusic$7,272,220
292012Stage production$7,106,631
30Prima Facie2022Prima FacieStage production$6,646,622
31BTS World Tour: Love Yourself in Seoul2019BTSMusic$6,587,004
32Stop Making Sense1984Talking HeadsMusic$5,694,759
33Hamlet2015HamletStage production$5,350,452
34Divine Madness2018Bette MidlerMusic$5,318,098
35Les Misérables: The Staged Concert2019Les MisérablesStage production$5,042,935
36IM Hero: The Final2023Lim Young-woongMusic$4,514,656
37National Theatre Live: The Audience2013Stage production$4,330,068
38Romeo and Juliet 2018Romeo and JulietStage production$4,282,983
39André Rieu 2018 Maastricht Concert2018André RieuMusic$3,869,719
40André Rieu: 70 Years Young2020André RieuMusic$3,788,405
41Miss Saigon 25th Anniversary Performance2016Miss SaigonStage production$3,720,532
42Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams2018ColdplayMusic$3,500,000
44André Rieu 2019 Maastricht Concert2019André RieuMusic$3,495,372
44National Theatre Live: Frankenstein2011FrankensteinStage production$3,351,486
45Let's Spend the Night Together1983Music$3,282,561
46Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor2017Floyd Mayweather Jr.Conor McGregorSports$3,250,019
47André Rieu's 2016 Maastricht Concert2016André RieuMusic$3,220,727
482015Stage production$3,097,621
49André Rieu's 2017 Maastricht Concert2017André RieuMusic$3,097,621
502013AidaMusic$2,943,797

Music

The top 15 are among the highest-grossing concert films. André Rieu is the most frequent performance with 13 titles on the list.
RankTitleYearPerformerWorldwide gross
1Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour2023Taylor Swift$267,100,000
2Justin Bieber: Never Say Never2011Justin Bieber$99,034,125
3Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert2008Miley Cyrus$70,712,099
4One Direction: This Is Us2013One Direction$68,233,799
5Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé2023Beyoncé$44,043,065
6Woodstock1970Various$34,699,266
7Katy Perry: Part of Me2012Katy Perry$32,700,439
8Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul: Live Viewing2022BTS$32,600,000
9Metallica Through the Never2013Metallica$31,900,000
10Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience2009Jonas Brothers$30,428,831
11BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas2023BTS$29,291,883
12Madonna: Truth or Dare1991Madonna$29,012,935
13U2 3D2008U2$26,170,402
14Burn the Stage: The Movie2018BTS$20,347,513
15U2: Rattle and Hum1988U2$8,600,823
16Live Broadcast from Buenos Aires2022Coldplay$8,400,000
17Mayday Life2019Mayday$7,272,220
18BTS World Tour: Love Yourself in Seoul2019BTS$6,587,004
19Stop Making Sense1984Talking Heads$5,694,759
20Divine Madness2018Bette Midler$5,318,098
21IM Hero: The Final2023Lim Young-woong$4,514,656
22André Rieu 2018 Maastricht Concert2018André Rieu$3,869,719
23André Rieu: 70 Years Young2020André Rieu$3,788,405
24Coldplay: A Head Full of Dreams2018Coldplay$3,500,000
25André Rieu 2019 Maastricht Concert2019André Rieu$3,495,372
26Let's Spend the Night Together1983$3,282,561
27André Rieu's 2016 Maastricht Concert2016André Rieu$3,220,727
28André Rieu's 2017 Maastricht Concert2017André Rieu$3,097,621
292013Aida$2,943,797
302022$2,881,726
31André Rieu's 2015 Maastricht Concert2015André Rieu$2,862,599
32André Rieu: Christmas with Andre 20162016André Rieu$2,809,890
33André Rieu's Sydney Town Hall Concert – An Australian Celebration2018André Rieu$2,806,603
34Greatest Hits Live2019Take That$2,549,176
35Depeche Mode: Spirits in the Forest2019Depeche Mode$2,442,030
36André Rieu's 2014 Maastricht Concert2014André Rieu$2,190,155
37Metallica & San Francisco Symphony S&M22019MetallicaSan Francisco Symphony$2,179,640
38Billie Eilish Live at the O22023Billie Eilish$2,117,195
39André Rieu 2023 Maastricht Concert: Love is All Around2023André Rieu$1,897,239
40André Rieu Live in Dublin2023André Rieu$1,826,384
41N'SYNC: Bigger Than Live2001NSYNC$1,808,679
42Cliff Richard Live: 60th Anniversary Tour2018Cliff Richard$1,686,021
43Rammstein: Paris2017Rammstein$1,658,090
44Twenty One Pilots: Cinema Experience2022Twenty One Pilots$1,560,000
45André Rieu: Christmas with André 20212021André Rieu$1,559,304
46Take That Live 20152015Take That$1,553,608
47Take That: Wonderland Live from the O22017Take That$1,422,889
48Big Bang Made2016BigBang$1,404,745
49André Rieu's: Magical Maastricht – Together in Music2020André Rieu$1,295,288
50David Gilmour Live at Pompei2017David Gilmour$1,273,347