Méliès, who had begun "A Trip to the Moon" in May 1902, finished the film in August of that year and began selling prints to French distributors in the same month. From September through December 1902, a hand-colored print of "A Trip to the Moon" was screened at Méliès's Théâtre Robert-Houdin in Paris. The film was shown after Saturday and Thursday matinee performances by Méliès's colleague and fellow magician, Jules-Eugène Legris, who appeared as the leader of the parade in the two final scenes. Méliès sold black-and-white and color prints of the film through his Star Film Company, where the film was assigned the catalogue number 399–411 and given the descriptive subtitle "Pièce à grand spectacle en 30 tableaux". In France, black-and-white prints sold for 560, and hand-colored prints for 1,000. Méliès also sold the film indirectly through Charles Urban's Warwick Trading Company in London.