Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ Film Hits Different with Estimated $95-$97 Million Opening: ‘Huge Financial Windfall’

How do you top a billion dollar tour that’s still ongoing? Post a concert video of the record breaking experience if you’re Taylor Swift.

this weekend, Eras tour concert film, which collects footage from the pop star’s August performance in Los Angeles, opened in theaters nationwide and earned an estimated $95 million to $97 million at the box office, making it the highest-grossing concert film in history, according to AMC Theaters Distribution. (Final figures will be available on Monday.)

The film also scored an impressive A+ Cinemascore and a 100 percent fresh rating on RottenTomatoes.com.

It’s a “blockbuster-style opening weekend,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.

Swift broke opening records for a concert film, AMC added, noting that the Justin Bieber film Never say never the concert film grossed a total of $73 million during its domestic run in 2011.

Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift on Eras Tour Premieres Concert Film While Announcing More Shows: ‘Look What You Made Me Do’

“This is a huge win for Taylor Swift and her family,” says Matthew Belloni, who first reported the terms of Swift’s theater deal in his newsletter, Puck.

By signing directly with AMC Entertainment instead of traditional movie studios, Swift “bypassed the traditional Hollywood system and like so many things in her life, she came out on top. This is a great financial gain,” he added.

On Wednesday, the pop star did it again with a wild Los Angeles premiere that packed 13 AMC theaters at The Grove, where she held the ball in a blue Oscar de la Renta gown.

And when news broke that the film would hit theaters a day early, Swifties across the country were ready for it. In packed theaters, fans exchanged (multiple) friendship bracelets, sang along and danced in the aisles, took cell phone video of the screen (rarely allowed in theaters), and ate from coveted Swift-embellished popcorn bowls.

Theaters have even agreed to set Swiftian ticket prices: $19.89 (plus tax) for standard tickets for adults and $13.13 for children and seniors (plus tax).

Taylor Swift performs on stage in March in Arizona on the Eras tour.

John Shearer/Getty

What to wear to a Taylor Swift concert film, Eras Tour

Meanwhile, Hollywood is reeling from the lost opportunity. Instead of selling the rights to Eras tour concert film movie studio, which would traditionally distribute the film to theaters and take a cut of the profits, Swift — and her parents, Andrea and Scott, Puck reported — cut out the middleman and brokered a deal with AMC that was “overwhelmingly favorable to the Swift family,” says Belloni.

How much will pop stars make in this modernized business model? Certainly a hefty sum. Puck reported that 43 percent of the film’s gross will go to theaters, with the remaining 57 percent split (in an unspecified split) between Swift and AMC.

Like her sold-out global tour, demand for Ere concert film is incredible: Ahead of its release, AMC announced that the film had sold more than $100 million in advance tickets worldwide, and the film would premiere in 90 countries.

Taylor Swift is performing her Eras Tour in Tennessee in May.

John Shearer/TAS23/Getty

The Beyhive is next in line for the silver screen. On December 1, Beyonce will also release her concert film, Renaissance: The Beyoncé Movie, direct to theaters via AMC Entertainment. In a show of solidarity, the two superstars posed together at Swift’s LA premiere on Wednesday.

This marks a unique moment in film history, says Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations Co.

“Successful concert films are one of the rarest events in the theater community. It just doesn’t happen often – maybe once a decade,” he says. “And now we’re getting two of these movies back-to-back, both of which are expected to be not only very successful, but also start a new cinematic trend.”

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education