Pop singer Taylor Swift ruled movie box offices over the weekend as her concert film turned darkened theaters into dance floors and hauled an estimated $126 million worldwide. Moviegoers dressed in concert T-shirts and sequins for screenings of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” At many showings, fans stood to sing along and move to the beat of “Shake It Off,” “Anti-Hero,” and other hits from Swift’s 17-year career.
To put it in perspective, it was the best opening ever for a concert movie and is nearly double the record-setting $65 million debut of the 2010 Michael Jackson film This Is It. The new Taylor film racked up $130 million in North America and another $21 million internationally. The movie earned an A+ CinemaScore in exit polls, joining the ranks of such acclaimed films as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Black Panther, 1991’s Beauty and the Beast, Titanic, and E.T.
The global total will surely rise as tickets are still being sold in Europe and other international markets. And Monday’s official tally will reveal if it secured the highest October opening yet, a title currently held by 2023’s The Joker ($96.2 million).
Swift bypassed traditional studio systems to partner with distributor AMC Theaters and distribute the concert film herself nine weeks after her domestic tour ended, relying on social media to communicate with 350 million followers and an aggressive promotional campaign. The result is a massive success that bodes well for other concert films and fills up an autumn slate diluted by the ongoing Hollywood actors’ strike. The actors’ union has delayed the release of movies like Dune: Part Two.
While Swift’s concert movie had a heady, record-setting start, the real test will be whether it can hold up over the long haul, as other recent concert films have struggled to do. The film’s performance is remarkable, given that it only had a Friday/preview night and Saturday run rather than the entire weekend. It still managed a healthy 20% drop, putting it ahead of female-skewing movies like Twilight (-41% Friday-to-Saturday) and Barbie (-34%).
The big takeaway is that the audience isn’t fickle and that moviegoers are responding to a strong demand for live entertainment. This is an encouraging sign for the industry in a time of declining attendance at the theater. And it’s a solid endorsement for the AMC chain, which had proactively added more showtimes and early screenings of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour to accommodate Swifties. The chain says it has seen an influx of new customers since the weekend.
