While concert films are not historically known for bringing in blockbuster movie theatre dollars, an exception to this rule was obviously going to be needed for Ms. Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour opening weekend.
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Swifties were out in full force over the weekend as Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opened nationwide, completely turning theatres into full-blown arenas as they danced and sang through the aisles with fellow fans.
Taylor Swift obviously has some celebrating to do herself, with distributor AMC Theatres saying on Sunday (October 15) that the film had brought in between $95 million and $97 million in North America. Adding in the international dollars, estimated to have earned between $31 to $33 million, brings the flick’s global total to between $126 million to $130 million, officially marking the biggest opening for a concert film ever recorded.
After opening in more than 8,500 movie theatres globally across 100 countries, Swift’s Eras Tour film officially topped Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never which brought in a whopping $73 million in 2011, which if counting for inflation would be around $102 million today. “This is a phenomenal number,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “To have a blockbuster-style opening weekend for a concert film is unprecedented.”
Other notable concert films that Taylor has officially dominated include the 2009 Michael Jackson film This Is It which grossed $72.1 million domestically, 2008’s Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert at $65.3 million, 2013’s One Direction: This Is Us at $28.9 million, 2012’s Katy Perry: Part of Me at: $25.3 million, and 2009’s Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience at $19 million -- among others.
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The momentum doesn’t seem to be slowing either. “Her spectacular performance delighted fans, who dressed up and danced through the film,” said Elizabeth Frank, a senior exec with AMC Theatres. “With tremendous recommendations and fans buying tickets to see this concert film several times, we anticipate ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ concert film playing to big audiences for weeks to come.”