André Rieu’s Amore makes cinematic history
Classical superstar André Rieu has once again broken records with the 2018 edition of his Maastricht concerts, taking £1.66 million at cinema box offices in the UK and Republic of Ireland and becoming the all-time most successful concert screened in cinemas.
The Dutch violinist, known as the King of Waltz, grossed a then-record £1.45m with his 2017 Maastricht concerts, held annually in his hometown in the south-eastern Netherlands.
Cinemagoers attended showings held at more than 500 locations across the British Isles on the weekend of 28 and 29 July, grossing £1,608,000, according to comScore figures, with selected encores the following weekend pushing the figure to £1,667, 790.
On its opening weekend, Amore – My Tribute to Love reached no5 in the UK box-office chart, behind summer blockbusters including Mission Impossible: Fallout, Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again and Incredibles 2.
For the second year, the concerts were produced and distributed by Piece of Magic Entertainment, a company co-founded by Rieu himself in July 2017.
“We are extremely proud that in Piece of Magic’s second year we broke the record for the biggest music concert in cinemas of all time”
Caspar Nadaud, the company’s CEO, comments: “We are extremely proud that in Piece of Magic’s second year we broke the record for the biggest music concert in cinemas of all time. We are looking forward to continuing to build audiences for André and to diversify the genre with new strands of content.”
“André Rieu continues to resonate and demonstrate true affinity amongst a loyal and growing audience for event cinema content. Each year, his performances exceed the last in terms of box-office takings,” Grainne Peat, managing director of the Event Cinema Association, adds.
“As an association we are seeking how we can better harness the excitement of this category to appeal to and attract a wider audience profile.”
Upcoming Piece of Magic Entertainment events include several esports events, including the League of Legends European summer finals live from Madrid (9 September) and League of Legends world championship final live from Seoul Korea (November), and Rieu’s new year’s concert in Sydney (5–6 January 2019).
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