In the 1970s, if you wanted to see your favorite music artists live, tickets cost between $5 and $10. Today, the average price for a concert ticket has skyrocketed to $135.92 in 2024, according to Pollstar. With online ticket marketplaces featuring additional fees, prices have risen above face-value.
Ticket availability and expensive pricing have made it difficult for fans to see their favorite artists on tour, and movie theaters have become an alternative for fans seeking a concert-viewing experience.
One of the earliest concert films dates back to 1951 with “Concert Magic,” a film showcasing violinist Yehudi Menuhin. In recent years, concert films have grown in popularity, with releases such as “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” “Gaga Chromatica Ball” and “Renaissance: A film by Beyoncé” offering fans a cinematic experience of tours from renowned artists.
However, one music genre in particular has made a recent visit to the box office: K-pop.
The theatrical release on Feb. 4 of “Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience” offers fans of the K-pop group, Stray Kids, a documentary-style film capturing their 2025 “dominATE World Tour” performance at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Directed by award-winning director Paul Dugdale (“Adele: One Night Only,” “Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour”) with documentary segments by Farah X (“The Remix: Hip Hop x Fashion”), the film has resonated with audiences, and landed a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter.
“It was so so good,” said junior forensics science major Mia Zullo. “I got to relive the concert and watch some behind the scenes and testimonials from the members.”
Even though Zullo attended two tour stops last year at Citi Field, she said the film’s release is meaningful for fans who want to relive the live concert experience and for people who were unable to attend shows in person.
“This sort of content is meaningful for fans because it gives fans that may not be able to afford going to a live concert still be able to experience it and the magic of concerts,” she said. “Watching a concert in person has you only looking at it from the same lens, and you can have a physical reaction to everything.
“Watching a concert in a movie theater allows you to still have that same level of fun because it aims to replicate that physical reaction. The blood pumping when you hear your favorite song start, the tears still fall when you hear an emotional song, the excitement is still there because it immerses you in the whole show.”
Zullo also said that being a fan of Stray Kids made the experience better, especially because she was able to share it with friends who are also fans.
“I have watched them [Stray Kids] grow so much over the past 6.5 years that I’ve been a fan and they are everything to me,” she said. “I’m so proud I got to watch them grow and have these opportunities. Stray Kids’ music got me through the lows in life and I’m happy I could experience this with my friends and share my love for them.”
Videos online have surfaced of fans dancing and singing along during the film’s showings, though reactions have been mixed online. Some people leave comments saying how these are movies, not concerts. But Zullo said she feels there is some sort of etiquette that goes into viewing these concerts in movie theaters that allows for fans to still have fun.
“Don’t do it for the entire movie,” she said. “You can have fun in your seat, don’t go to the front and impede on everyone else.”
