Taylor Swift performs onstage in the course of the Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at Lumen Field on July 22, 2023 in Seattle, Washington.
Mat Hayward/tas23 | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Taylor Swift is already a superstar. Now, she’s about to place up superhero-style numbers at movie theaters.
Days after the pop icon announced her Eras Tour concert film would come to domestic movie theaters in October, tickets have been selling fast. The flurry of presales have led theaters big and small so as to add additional showtimes to satisfy demand.
Box office analysts aren’t being conservative about their opening weekend expectations. Many foresee Swift’s big screen experience to top $100 million during its debut.
“It remains to be very early days for such a highly unique release,” said Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. “That said, nine digits looks very attainable for opening weekend if capability continues to grow with additional theaters and showtimes, and particularly if promotion ramps up more in the subsequent few weeks to draw the non-Swifties as a part of a real theatrical event.”
At its current pace, Robbins said he would not be surprised to see the film deliver the perfect opening of any film released within the fourth quarter. Especially, as many theaters have teased that they’ll have unique in-cinema experiences only for the occasion. The Warehouse Cinemas chain, as an illustration, plans to roll out a cotton candy drink with a glitter rim (available as a cocktail and a nonalcoholic mocktail) and popcorn with edible glitter for fans who dress up for the movie.
$100 million opening weekends in 2023
- “Barbie” (Warner Bros.) – $162 million
- “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (Universal) – $146.3 million
- “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” (Sony) – $120.6 million
- “Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2” (Disney) – $118.4 million
- “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” (Disney) – $106.1 million
Source: Comscore
The surprise movie announcement comes at a time when several big budget features are fleeing the discharge calendar. Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s “Dune: Part Two,” and Sony’s “Kraven the Hunter” and “Ghostbusters: Afterlife” sequel have all departed for 2024 amid dual Hollywood labor strikes.
Warner Bros.’ DC Comics sequel “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” prequel “Wonka,” alongside Disney and Marvel Studios’ “The Marvels” are still on the slate for 2023.
The film is bypassing the standard studio system model and shall be distributed directly by AMC Entertainment. The biggest movie chain on this planet is anticipated to choose up a 5% to six% distribution fee.
Moreover, tickets for the film are priced higher than typical general admission seats. Base prices start at $19.89 for adults and $13.13 for youths. The numbers reflect Swift’s birth 12 months and her lucky number 13. Tickets for premium format screens like IMAX and Dolby come at a better cost.
The film is ready to run Thursday through Sunday until Nov. 5. Although some have speculated that top box office numbers could extend its stay in theaters.
“The overwhelming response to news of the movie’s release and subsequent ticket buying frenzy has taken the box office projections to the subsequent level and will create a recent model for how you can boost movie show revenues with special events and non-traditional filmed content,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
Swift’s concert film seems destined to handedly overtake the present record-holder for theatrical concert film. Miley Cyrus’ “Better of Each Worlds” tour tallied $31.1 million during its opening weekend back in 2008. It ultimately snared $70 million globally, in line with Comscore data.
“Irrespective of where things land, Eras is already a thunderous success and a welcome addition for theatrical exhibition who’ve been on the mercy of Hollywood’s strike-induced delays of other tentpole movies previously slated for the approaching months,” Robbins said. “It is a shining example of Taylor’s remarkable following and her business acumen in a 12 months which she’s already dominated the popular culture landscape.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
