The Taylor Swift: Eras Tour Is Already Breaking Box Office Records
On the one hand, Blumhouse's frantic scramble to shift "The Exorcist: Believer" away from the newly-announced "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" concert film on the former's perfectly-timed original theatrical release date of Friday, October 13, 2023, has cruelly denied us a chance at making #Exorswift the new #Barbenheimer. On the other hand, Jason Blum promptly (or, should I say, Swiftly?) tucking his tail between his legs and retreating rather than facing down an army of Swifties has already proven itself to be one of the most business-savvy decisions of this year.
According to Variety, "The Eras Tour" has already amassed $26 million in box office presales at AMC Theatres and even broke the vendor's previous single-day ticket sales record ($16.9 million, set by "Spider-Man: No Way Home" in 2021) less than three hours after tickets went on sale. Not only that, Fandango has issued a press release confirming the film has broken its own best first-day ticket sales record for 2023 and now ranks alongside titles like "Avengers: Endgame" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" in its top-10 all-time best first-day pre-selling titles. Who needs Earth's Mightiest Heroes or even Jedi when you've got the power of Taylor Swift on your side?
Bear in mind that "The Eras Tour" will also be playing at Regal and Cinemark theaters in addition to AMC venues when it arrives. As it stands, exhibitors now believe the film has a real shot at making $100 million or more during its opening weekend at the domestic box office, which would make it only the sixth film of 2023 to do so. Then again, considering the ways Hollywood continues to underestimate the power of the female dollar, it's plausible the film could pull a "Barbie" and climb even higher than the rosiest current projections.
Taylor Swift is making theaters' wildest dreams come true
Move over, Tom Cruise, and apologies to the superheroes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. What the box office needs right now is an antihero, and it's found her in Taylor Swift. Since the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers stubbornly refuses to throw in the towel and accept that the original agreements proposed by the striking actors' and writers' guilds were actually completely fair in the way they compensate artists for their work, theaters are in a dire position when it comes to their fall slate. Major tentpoles such as "Dune: Part Two" have already been pushed out of their original dates in the final third of 2023, and even awards season hopefuls like "Poor Things" have been forced to play calendar Tetris in the hopes that the strikes will be over by the time they arrive.
Likewise, the box office has taken a significant hit over the past month due to the lack of actors promoting their newest films. Fortunately for theaters, "The Eras Tour" sells itself and should provide a much-needed boost financially in what's otherwise shaping up to be a pretty slow October. The film was initially slated to play at least four times a day during its opening weekend at AMC theaters, but the vendor is actively in the process of adding even more showtimes where "necessary and available." Throw in the unusual pricing for tickets ($19.89 for adults and $13.13 for children and seniors on standard screens, with IMAX and Dolby showings costing more), and it's no wonder theaters finds themselves in a bit of a ... lavender haze.
There's no need to calm down: "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" is shaping up to be the theatrical event of the fall when it arrives on October 13, 2023.