Draft:Trafalgar Releasing

Trafalgar Releasing Limited is an event cinema distributor based in the United Kingdom. Trafalgar Releasing’s global operations include the production, acquisition, marketing, and distribution of content to over 13,000 cinemas in more than 130 countries worldwide.

Trafalgar Releasing is a subsidiary of Trafalgar Entertainment, a multinational entertainment company based in London, UK. Its CEO, Marc Allenby, is a board member of the Event Cinema Association alongside managers from Crunchyroll, Vue International, and Empire Cinemas.

The distributor has been involved in event cinema releases from artists including BTS and Taylor Swift, which have often made substantial revenue.

In 2018, it became one of the top 40 indie cinema distributors in the US, and was the 12th largest distributor in the UK.

History
Originally the distribution arm of Picturehouse Cinemas under the name Picturehouse Entertainment, Trafalgar Releasing has been operating since 2006.

In 2017, Picturehouse Entertainment was acquired by Trafalgar Entertainment and rebranded as Trafalgar Releasing.

In 2018, Trafalgar Releasing expanded its operations to the United States, with representation in New York, Denver, and Los Angeles.

The distributor has handled some of the largest cinema event releases of recent years. Yahoo! Entertainment reported that Taylor Swift's 'Eras' and Beyoncé's 'Renaissance' tours have the highest grosses per show 'of any tours ever', and wrote that the successes of concert films are 'absolutely the start of a new chapter', quoting Travis Knox, associate professor at Chapman University’s Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.

Acquisitions
In 2019, the company acquired UK-based event cinema distribution specialist, More2Screen.

BTS: Burn the Stage the Movie
BTS: Burn the Stage the Movie was released and distributed by Trafalgar Releasing on 15th November 2018. According to Billboard, pre-premiere ticketing for the film topped 940,000 sales worldwide.

With 1.4 million global admissions, Burn the Stage broke the record for the highest grossing event cinema concert production, previously set in 2014 by One Direction: Where We Are with 1.2 million admissions.

The following year, BTS: Bring the Soul the Movie was released and distributed by the company in 115 territories worldwide. According to Forbes, Trafalgar Releasing later announced that the film brought in $24.3 million worldwide, once again breaking the box office record for event cinema.

Khalid: Free Spirit
In April 2019, Trafalgar Releasing in collaboration with musical artist Khalid released Khalid: Free Spirit, a short film event that coincided with the release of his new album. The film was screened as a one-night event in movie theatres worldwide and was followed with the playing of the album.

Metallica S&M2
In October 2019, Metallica's S&M2 film was released by Trafalgar Releasing in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Metallica's S&M concerts. The film earned over $1.2 million at the North American box office, and totalled $5.5 million internationally, making it the highest-grossing rock cinema event ever.

As a result, the film was screened at theatres worldwide for a second time on October 30th, 2019.

2021
In August 2021, in collaboration with CJ 4DPLEX, Trafalgar Releasing launched Blackpink: the Movie in theatres worldwide. Within the same month, the company announced that the film was the highest grossing event cinema release of 2021 with a total gross of $4.8 million.

BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage
In March 2022, Trafalgar Releasing, with South Korean entertainment company Hybe, livestreamed the second day of the BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage event in Seoul, South Korea. The film was released in 3,711 cinemas in 75 countries and regions for one day.

According to Variety, the company claimed to have broken the global event cinema record with $32.6 million global box office takings.

Coldplay: Music of the Spheres
In October 2022, Trafalgar Releasing live broadcast Coldplay's Music of the Spheres World Tour from Buenos Aires. The broadcast was shown in cinemas across 81 countries, breaking the record for the number of live cinema event venues.

BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas
In March 2023, Trafalgar Releasing screened BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas in 5,817 cinemas across 128 countries. According to Trafalgar Releasing, it is the highest grossing worldwide event cinema, grossing $53 million at the box office.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
Released worldwide on 13 October 2023 after being previewed at The Grove in Los Angeles on 11 October, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the highest-ever grossing cinema event in the UK and Ireland after only three days from its release. The film drew in £5.7m from 651 sites.

Trafalgar Releasing took on the role of balancing the film's global distribution and negotiated its release in China.

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé
Premiering at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles on November 25, 2023 before having a theatrical release in the US on 1 December 2023, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé follows the singer's Renaissance World Tour in a style similar to Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. Trafalgar Releasing handled the film's release in the UK and Ireland, opening to £1.1m across 568 sites.