New Elvis documentary ‘EPiC’ makes $14 million, a win for music movies

Nearly 60 years after leaving his movie star career behind, Elvis Presley is once again a hit at the box office.

After Baz Luhrmann’s 2022 “Elvis” and Sofia Coppola’s 2023 “Priscilla,” the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll cracked the box office’s top 10 highest-grossing films for the third time in less than four years.

Luhrmann’s hybrid concert film/documentary, “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” came in fifth place domestically and earned a total of $8.5 million globally during its first weekend in wide release. So far, the screenings have earned around $14 million cumulatively.

The movie, shown in more than 5,000 locations, ranked below “Scream 7” and “Goat,” which topped the box office. “EPiC” marks the third-biggest opening for a documentary of all time, ahead of “One Direction: This Is Us” (2013) and “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” (2009).

The strong debut is the latest sign that music-themed documentaries and concert films continue to be a box-office draw for both dedicated fans and regular moviegoers, even as studios focus on developing biopics of famous musicians such as the Beatles and Michael Jackson.

“What we’re seeing with the advent of life being lived so much online and staring at phones is that young people particularly crave to participate in groups, to go out to an event, and music films are an event in themselves,” Luhrmann said in a statement. “What’s so gratifying is to see young audiences, even some who don’t know who Elvis is, who are clapping, singing and dancing along at the screen. I think we’re going to see a lot more event music cinema in the future.”

Luhrmann’s newest cinematic tribute to the Memphis-raised rock star was made entirely of never-before-seen footage. The “Romeo and Juliet” director’s research team stumbled upon this unseen footage in an underground salt mine in Kansas while making the 2022 biopic starring Austin Butler. “EPiC” follows Presley as he returns to live music at his Las Vegas residency after his stint as an actor.

The hour and 36-minute feature, which reportedly cost about $10 million to make, began its limited release on Feb. 20, opening at 325 locations. It also had a one-week stint in IMAX, making it the highest-grossing week ever for a documentary in IMAX.

Elissa Federoff, the chief distribution officer at Neon, who’s handling the film’s domestic distribution, said that audiences are connecting to “EPiC” because it “offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Elvis at his peak.”

“The big-screen environment takes it to the next level. Audiences of all ages can immerse themselves in these incredible performances, and doing so with friends, family, and a full theater makes it unforgettable,” Federoff added. “That’s the power of music films — they transform theaters into spaces for extraordinary, shared experiences.”

“EPiC” is the latest addition to music’s ever-growing footprint in movie theaters. Last year, screenings for several music documentaries and concert films were able to rake in a couple of million dollars at the box office. “It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley” earned nearly $1.5 million, “Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii” made $6.4 million and Sony Pictures’ “Becoming Led Zeppelin” raked in more than $14.6 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo’s worldwide data.

Marc Allenby, chief executive of Trafalgar Releasing, a U.K. company focused on distributing music movies, says Taylor Swift has helped to accelerate the popularity of music cinema.

In 2023, the singer put the concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” in theaters, earning over $260 million worldwide. (Trafalgar helped distribute the movie to audiences outside the U.S. and Canada.) Last year, Swift also hosted screenings for her latest album, “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” which grossed $50 million globally.

Trafalgar has expanded its slate to keep up with demand. Last year, the company released 39 movies, up from 27 in 2019. Another documentary from Trafalgar — “Twenty One Pilots: More Than We Ever Imagined” — came in fourth last weekend, with $3.7 million in ticket sales.

“Live music is evergreen property … as long as there’s a music industry, then there’s an event cinema industry to support it,” Allenby said. “There’s a kind of greater interest in the potential of what bringing new audiences to the cinema can do, both in terms of your revenue and audience. But expanding what a cinema is — it is an entertainment hub or cultural hub.”

At one of the first IMAX showings last week, fans in reclining seats danced and audibly cheered inside AMC’s Century City theater, as Presley appeared as clear and as sweaty as ever.

“It’s like a live concert. We went to the Prince anniversary [“Prince: Sign o’ the Times” returned to theaters in August] and everyone was singing too. I like sharing in a communal space,” said moviegoer Rachel Bailit. “It’s very alive. It’s like going to a stadium.”

Her friend John Lacy, added, “It is more affordable than a concert. I prefer to be in a live venue. But that opportunity doesn’t come up too often. There’s nothing like the live experience. But, there’s a lot to be said for sitting in a theater with people.”

Amanda Walencewicz, another attendee, said she’ll go see any concert film in theaters, as they’re her favorite movie genre. She says music movies also cause her listening habits to shift.

“When you go to see a music biopic or a documentary, you forget how many hits some artists have. It makes you want to listen to their music in the car on the way home,” Walencewicz said.

The correlation between listening to an artist’s music after seeing a documentary or a concert film isn’t exclusive to the cinema experience. When documentaries on streaming platforms gain traction, artists also often see a spike in listens.

When “Becoming Led Zeppelin” hit Netflix last year, it became the most-watched music documentary across all streaming platforms. The documentary drove the British rock band’s global streams to their highest ever weekly peak at the time, hitting 40.4 million. Led Zeppelin’s streams also maintained a new baseline average of 38 million per week through January, which is 16% over the previous period.

Over the course of its limited release and one week in Imax, there was a “slight uptick” in listens for Presley’s catalog both nationally and in the L.A. area, per music data analyst Luminate.

And Luhrmann isn’t done yet with the story of America’s most famous rock ‘n’ roll star. As he plots the screening of “EPiC” at the Las Vegas Sphere, the Aussie also plans to adapt Presley’s life into a stage production, similar to what he did with “Moulin Rouge! The Musical.”