BTS Seoul concerts attract 2.46 million fans around the world

Members of BTS perform during a live concert titled "Permission to Dance on Stage ― Seoul" at the Seoul Olympic Stadium in Seoul in this handout photo taken March 10. Courtesy of Big Hit Music

K-pop supergroup BTS' three live concerts in Seoul attracted 2.46 million fans both on and offline, the group's agency said Monday.

The "BTS Permission To Dance On Stage ― Seoul" shows were held at Seoul Olympic Stadium, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday nights, with the first and third-night shows streamed live online and the second-night concert available for "live-viewing" at movie theaters across the world.

The shows drew a total audience of 45,000 at Seoul Olympic Stadium for the three days and were also watched live by 1,020,000 and 1.4 million fans, respectively, online and at theaters, Big Hit Music said.

The number 1.4 million is a record high for any non-film content shown at theaters around the world, according to the agency.

According to Variety, Sunday (local time), the second-night show accumulated $32.6 million (40.26 billion won) from 3,711 theaters in 75 countries around the world.

In North America, the second-night show played in 803 theaters and earned roughly $6.84 million in North America alone, leading to its No. 3 debut in the regional box office behind Robert Pattinson's superhero adventure "The Batman" and Tom Holland's "Uncharted," the magazine said. The two Hollywood action blockbusters collected $66 million from 4,417 venues and $9.2 million from 3,725 locations over the weekend, respectively.

Since all screaming, chanting or singing during concerts were barred under strict COVID-19 rules, fans instead expressed their enthusiasm by clapping and waving their purple-colored LED wands, known as ARMY bombs, in sync. ARMY refers to the band's global fan base.

Band members expressed their appreciation to fans for making the unprecedented concerts with such rules possible.

"As always, you were the best, and I think you have delivered all the sincerity and energy you could give us in a limited situation," leader RM said on Weverse. "It was thanks to you that we were able to safely finish the miraculous three days."

J-Hope said, "I hope the day will come when we can dance, shout and go crazy with everyone at our concert."

BTS is scheduled to hold four concerts in Las Vegas April 8 and 9, and 15 and 16 (local time). (Yonhap)