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Taylor Swift, the cultural juggernaut known for shattering records, said on Wednesday that the documentary film from her billion-dollar Eras concert tour will offer one-day early-access showings in the U.S. and Canada.
"Look what you genuinely made me do," the "Anti-Hero" singer wrote on the social media platform X.
"Due to unprecedented demand we're opening up early access showings of
The Eras Tour
Concert Film on Thursday in America and Canada.
We're also adding additional showtimes Friday and throughout the weekend," Swift said.
Previously, Swift had said the movie, "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," would only be released in North America, but it was later announced that it would be screened worldwide.
Meanwhile, movie theatres are readying for an onslaught like they’ve never seen before, beginning Friday when 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' debuts. The concert film, compiled from several Swift shows at Southern California’s SoFi Stadium, is expected to launch with $100 million, or possibly more. Advance ticket sales worldwide have already surpassed $100 million.
Swifties will descend. Dancing will be encouraged.
Concert films, of course, aren’t anything new. Just last month, the Talking Heads classic “Stop Making Sense” returned to theatres for a decades-later encore. But “The Eras Tour” heralds something new and potentially game-changing in the movie industry.
Two of the biggest stars on the planet — Swift and, in December under a very similar arrangement, Beyoncé — are heading into cinemas in first-of-their-kind deals made directly with AMC Theaters that circumvent Hollywood studios and which, for now, leave streamers waiting on the sidelines.
But how did the once declared-for-dead multiplex become the go-to place this fall a pair of stars previously at home on Netflix?
When studios began diverting some of their titles to streaming platforms, movie theatres began thinking harder about how they could fill their screens — a question exacerbated this autumn by an actors strike that’s led to the postponement of big releases like “Dune: Part Two.”
Movie theatres are increasingly not just a marquee of movie showtimes but a big-screen stage for a variety of visual media. BTS earlier this year released a concert film, with higher ticket prices and limited showtimes. The Metropolitan Opera has for years done popular live broadcasts in theatres.
Few acts can do what Swift and Beyoncé can. Their expected success is unlikely to be replicated. But “The Eras Tour” could be the start of an expansion of what, exactly, a movie theatre can be. Think the Sphere, only much cheaper and in most towns.
Swift’s camp was motivated to get the film out even as her stadium tour continues internationally. The tour, which is projected by Pollstar to gross some $1.4 billion, crashed Ticketmaster’s site, saw sky-high resale mark-ups and left many fans priced out.
The movie, directed by Sam Wrench, would be a way for millions more to experience the Eras Tour. Adult tickets are being sold for $19.89,” a reference to her birth year and 2014 album, a re-recording of which is due out Oct. 27. That's higher than the average movie ticket but several thousand less than many tickets to see Swift live.
It's arriving uncommonly fast, too, just a little over two months since the SoFi shows. Speed was one reason Swift’s father, Scott Swift, is said to have sought out a direct deal with AMC. Swift produced the film, herself, and, with 274 million followers on Instagram, didn’t need a studio to promote it.
After a premiere in Los Angeles on Wednesday, there won’t be any advance screenings until the movie begins playing at 6 p.m. local time Friday. Most wide-release movies open with Thursday showings and Friday daytime screenings. It’s another wrinkle in a nontraditional release that’s challenging Hollywood norms.
English (US)