Long live the new box office queen.
After selling out stadiums across the country, Taylor Swift is packing theaters with the concert film “The Eras Tour,” which earned estimates of $95 million to $97 million over the weekend. Typically, studios report a firmer number at this point, but “without clear comparisons, Sunday box office projections remain range-bound,” the film’s official distributor, AMC Theaters, said in a news release. Rivals have suggested the final total could be closer to $94 million.
It’s still a remarkable start for a concert film that was announced just six weeks ago and featured minimal promotion aside from a few social media posts from Swift, who has more than 350 million Instagram and X/Twitter followers. came to the big screen.
In its first weekend in theaters, “The Eras Tour” became the highest-grossing concert film in domestic box office history, surpassing the total $73 million haul of 2011’s “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never.” Depending on the tally last weekend, “The Eras Tour” has the potential to set an October box office record currently held by 2019’s “Joker” with $96 million.
“It’s such a unique achievement because we’re talking about a tentpole-level opening that wasn’t on the planning calendar a few months ago,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Box Office Pro.
Swift’s “Eras Tour,” a filmed version of her globe-trotting stadium show, was originally scheduled to open on Friday the 13th (coinciding with her lucky number). But she surprised fans by releasing the film a day early and showings began at 6pm on Thursday. “The Eras Tour” will maintain an atypical release schedule from now on, making it difficult to predict the film’s box office performance. It only runs in cinemas on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. This is because Team Swift wants the film to be experienced in front of a full audience during a Monday matinee and not in half-empty halls. Their numerically high fees ($19.89 for adults, $13.13 for children and seniors) are expected to make up for the shortened show times, as tickets cost more than the national average price.
“We expect the box office to double from here, but there’s no precedent for that,” said David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “We are in uncharted territory.”
Fans treat the theater experience like another (cheaper) stop on their sold-out tour. And instead of strictly enforcing rules on talking and texting, theater owners — at Swift’s suggestion — are encouraging audiences to sing and dance and even take videos of all the fun in the theater. It’s no surprise that “Eras Tour” received an “A+” CinemaScore rating from audiences, many of whom will be returning for repeat screenings.
The film has taken an unconventional route to theaters as it is not distributed by a major studio. Instead, the pop star released the film with the help of AMC Theaters, the world’s largest cinema chain. Swift, who produced the film himself, will make a lot of money from the concert film. It gets to take home about 57% of ticket sales, with theaters keeping the rest of the revenue and AMC taking a small distribution fee. Of course, these profits are nothing compared to the billions she is expected to earn from the actual tour, the most lucrative concert in American history. But it’s a huge windfall for theater owners, who were worried about an otherwise dismal decline in cinema, especially after “Dune: Part Two” was pushed back to 2024.
“The Eras Tour” became such a cultural phenomenon that four Hollywood films, including “The Exorcist: Believer,” postponed their debuts to avoid the release of Swift’s concert film. PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, Saw
Coming in a distant second, The Exorcist: Believer, its sophomore release, grossed $11 million from 3,684 venues, a 58% decline from its debut. So far, the spooky sequel has grossed $44.9 million in North America and $84.9 million worldwide. Universal and Blumhouse spent $30 million to produce the film, but a staggering $400 million on the rights to the property, with plans to develop at least a new trilogy.
“PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” landed in third place with $7 million in its third weekend of release. The animated children’s film from Paramount and Nickelodeon has grossed $49.8 million in North America and $126 million worldwide. The sequel has surpassed its predecessor, 2021’s PAW Patrol, at the domestic box office ($40 million while simultaneously opening on Paramount+), but is still behind the first film ($140 million) worldwide ).
“Saw The film only cost $13 million, so by the end of its theatrical run it will be quite profitable for its backers.
Disney and 20th Century’s sci-fi epic “The Creator,” directed by Gareth Edwards and starring John David Washington, rounded out the top five with $4.3 million from 2,960 locations in its third weekend in theaters. The $80 million-budgeted film about a war against humans and AI grossed just $32 million at the domestic box office and $79.1 million worldwide.