The concert that closed BLACK SABBATH's story is going to cinemas. Trafalgar Releasing has announced a worldwide theatrical release for "Ozzy & Black Sabbath: Back To The Beginning," produced by Mercury Studios, running as an event release from October 28, 2026. Tickets go on sale on Thursday, September 24 at 7 a.m. PT / 3 p.m. BST / 4 p.m. CEST via backtothebeginning.com.
The film documents the sold-out show at Birmingham's Villa Park on July 5 last year: a solo set from Ozzy Osbourne, and then the original BLACK SABBATH lineup — Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward — on a stage together for the first time in more than two decades. It was captured 17 days before Osbourne's death, which makes the footage the last document of a career that began in the same city.
"'Back To The Beginning' came about because I asked Ozzy what would really make him happy," said Sharon Osbourne, who oversaw the event. "And he said the only thing that would make him happy was if he could perform again and say goodbye to his fans. That's all he wanted to do. He wanted to say goodbye and thank you."
Hosted by Jason Momoa with Tom Morello as musical director, the day sold out in minutes and pulled in sets from ALICE IN CHAINS, ANTHRAX, GOJIRA, GUNS N' ROSES, HALESTORM, LAMB OF GOD, MASTODON, METALLICA, PANTERA, RIVAL SONS, SLAYER and TOOL, plus all-star segments featuring Billy Corgan, David Draiman, David Ellefson, Jake E. Lee, K.K. Downing, Nuno Bettencourt, Ronnie Wood, Rudy Sarzo, Sammy Hagar, Steven Tyler, Travis Barker, Vernon Reid and others.
Osbourne's bandmates have all reflected on the night. "It was a closure for the band and it was a good way to go out, I think," said Iommi. Butler put it differently: "To me it was like pure love. It was just a wave of love. It's the only way I can describe it, really. I mean, I could feel it as if it is like tangible." Ward's memory was simpler still — "Felt completely at home in a place where I belong. It almost felt like I was in a dream."
Morello, who assembled the bill, framed the scale of it: "There's never been anything like that that's happened in the history of rock and roll. There's never been a precedent for a show like this… [BLACK SABBATH] gets to play their final show basically in the Ground Zero of where they created heavy metal."
The film is directed for screen by Ben Wainwright-Pearce, whose credits include "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," with the live concert directed by Tim Van Someren and production handled by Jim Parsons, Jamie Silk and Dan Seliger. It has been cut specifically for cinema, aiming to hold both the scale of the stadium production and the closer moments alongside it.