Is Taylor Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ Movie Success a Flash in the Pan or a New Model?

With nearly $93 million at the box office on opening weekend alone, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film is not just a success — it’s a smash. Swift took the film directly to AMC Theaters for distribution, bypassing the major Hollywood studios in a win-win for the theater chain and Swift herself, solidifying the Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and filmmaker as an entrepreneur as well. And judging by the demographic makeup of those who came out in droves on opening weekend, “The Eras Tour” is just the latest example of how catering to female moviegoers pays off.

According to CinemaScore, a whopping 80% of opening weekend attendees were female, compared to the 65% who were female on the opening weekend of July’s blockbuster “Barbie.” The audience skewed younger as well, with 30% of moviegoers falling between the ages of 25-34, 23% between the ages of 18 and 24 and an impressive 20% under the age of 18.

These hard and fast numbers are in lockstep with what TheWrap witnessed on Friday night, as “Eras Tour” ticket buyers at a local AMC were rife with female Swifties in costume, with plenty of mother-daughter duos. But the moviegoers’ attitudes towards seeing more films in the theater, and specifically catching Beyoncé’s upcoming “Renaissance” documentary, indicate the film’s success may not be easily replicated.

Friday night’s first screening at the AMC CityWalk in Burbank brought out large crowds of Swift fans, clad head-to-toe in Swift paraphernalia, whether that be merch from her live Eras tour or homemade outfits. AMC concession stands sold Swift-themed metal popcorn buckets, drink cups and glow wands amongst the candy and popcorn, which fans waved around once the lights went down.

Of the nearly 25 people TheWrap surveyed during the opening night of the concert film, nearly half said they had immediate plans to see the film again. Hannah Chao, who saw the movie with her husband and children, planned to see the film 48 hours later, after seeing Swift’s actual concert live in both Los Angeles and Glendale, Arizona.

Six other women reported plans to either see it opening weekend or at a later date. But several people interviewed about repeat viewings were hesitant. Mother-daughter duo Patra Kittichanthira and Kaalea Cichowski experienced the concert from the parking lot of SoFi Stadium, and while Cichowski might go see the Swift film again in theaters her mother wants to wait for streaming. “It’s so long,” Kittichanthira said of the near three-hour runtime.

She echoed the sentiments of Mica Dolan, who said, “Once I’ve seen it on the big screen I’ll wait until streaming [to see it again].” Jessica Perez said the film was a one and done for her because the film is excluded from AMC’s members only A-list series — where attendees can see up to three movies a week for one monthly fee – and she’s unwilling to pay to see it multiple times.

Theater owners are hoping the diehard fandom will continue past opening weekend, giving it much-welcomed legs in a theatrical landscape lacking significant blockbusters. But given the fervent opening weekend audience a significant chance of box office dropoff lingers, especially as the film is only playing Thursday-Sundays. “We need to manage second-weekend expectations,” cautioned Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Even if it collapses, it’s all found money for the theaters.”

A One-Woman Barbenheimer?

The turnout for Swift’s film has led commentators to question whether Swift will be a one-woman Barbenheimer, able to draw audiences in droves back to the movie theater after a long hiatus. Interestingly, the majority of those surveyed by TheWrap said they were frequent moviegoers prior to the “Eras” concert film and indicated they would be back to see a different movie soon. Of that half, several said they had recently seen “Barbie,” “Oppenheimer,” “Gran Turismo” and “Dumb Money.”

There were outliers. Jennifer Curran, attending the film with her friends and children, said the “Eras” film was her first movie since “Top Gun: Maverick” in 2022, though she’s open to coming back to see another movie soon. Tatiana Boyadjian echoed similar sentiments. It had been over a year since she was in a theater and said she wouldn’t be back. “Theaters are gross,” she opined.

Another oddity to note about the “Eras Tour” theatrical experience is that audience members have been encouraged to sing and dance along, just as they would at a concert. Videos have gone viral on social media showing young girls dancing in fairy circles underneath the screen, with some comparing the response to cult-centric films like “The Wicker Man” and “Midsommar.” Try that in a showing of “Oppenheimer.”

Rachel Martin, who saw the Eras tour live six different times and was at the Wednesday premiere for the film in Los Angeles, said she will be seeing the movie again once the hubbub has died down so she is better able to enjoy the film on its own merits. “At the premiere, everyone was being loud, standing up, and dancing and that was really fun,” Martin said. “But I also want to experience [it] without the distractions and fully take it in, because I definitely didn’t do that at the live show.”

These reporters experienced the movie with minimal distractions outside of a group of girls, around the ages of 9 to 11, dancing in the very front row. Despite AMC relaxing their cell phone policy, only a few people pulled out phones during the screening, many to snap a quick picture before putting it away.

So can Swift set the stage, so to speak, for a similarly-large audience of fans for Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” concert documentary, set to hit theaters Dec. 1? “Beyoncé’s fans are going to come out no matter what,” Dergarabedian said, hopeful that the trend will continue. “There should be crossover fanbases.”

Based on the small sampling of “Eras Tour” moviegoers that TheWrap spoke to, that crossover effect wasn’t immediately evident. Those interviewed for this article were predominantly women, eight of whom were white while eight were women of color. Of the five men interviewed, two were of color. Of those surveyed, just six said they were planning to see Beyoncé’s documentary, though at least two said they were unsure but interested.

“I am seeing the Beyoncé movie mainly because my best friend is a big Beyoncé fan. He came with me to see Taylor and I’m going with him to see Beyoncé,” said Alex Day, who had plans to attend a Renaissance concert before he contracted COVID and decided to stay home.

Four of the five people interviewed about Beyoncé weren’t even aware that she also had a documentary arriving in theaters soon. But once told about it, they said they would either consider or would for sure attend a “Renaissance” screening come December. “I love Beyoncé, I’m just not a huge fan,” Marlie Austin said. “I’m more of a fan of Taylor.”

So was “The Eras Tour” a flash in the pan or a replicable model for sustained theatrical success? Moviegoers surveyed by TheWrap tended to be serious Swift fans, turning out thanks to their well-established fandom instead of out of some curiosity factor. Swiftmania seemed to rule the day more than anything. The picture of whether this could set the stage for more successful concert films going forward will become clearer once the second-weekend box office numbers come in — did all who wanted to see “Eras Tour” see it opening weekend, or will its success spur less enthusiastic Swift fans to check it out?

Right now it’s Taylor’s world. We’re all just dancing in it.

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