Taylor Swift And Batman Have Something In Common: They Can't Beat The Joker
"Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" rolled into theaters this past weekend and, as expected, it proved to be a cinematic event. Swift, who has already conquered the Billboard charts for over a decade, decided that she would like to conquer the box office as well and did so by not only topping the charts, but nearly setting a record for the month of October. With an opening weekend total of $92.8 million, Swift now owns the second-biggest debut for a movie released during the month of October. The only one standing in her way? "Joker." Yes, much like Batman, Taylor Swift has been thwarted by the Clown Prince of Crime. But make no mistake, Swift is still laughing her way into the record books here.
Heading into the weekend, analysts were predicting ridiculously high highs for Swift's concert film, with most predictions putting the debut in the $100 million range – if not much higher. In the end, it fell a little short of those sky-high predictions but, with a budget of around $20 million, the movie is still a gargantuan success. Just about the only thing Swift can't say is that she owns the record for an opening weekend at the box office during the month of October. That record still belongs to 2019's "Joker."
Director Todd Phillips's dark, R-rated take on Batman's most famous villain, played by Joaquin Phoenix, opened to a record $96.2 million four years ago, on its way to $1.07 billion globally by the end of its run. It remains the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever. Now, the odds of Swift joining the $1 billion club are next to impossible and, frankly, that was never really on the table in the first place.
Laughing all the way to the bank
Given that her concert tour has generated billions up to this point already, everything earned from this movie is pretty much icing on an already well-iced cake. Something happens when a big movie falls short of ridiculously high expectations sometimes. People will look at it as a disappointment, which runs counter to the true narrative. Any jokes about Batman and Taylor Swift now sharing a common enemy aside, what "The Eras Tour" just did is nothing shy of absurdly impressive. It is going to go a long way in moving Swift up the list on the "biggest pop stars ever" chart.
There are other things worth considering as well. "Joker" opened to $39.3 million on its first Friday in theaters, $13.3 million of which came from Thursday previews. "The Eras Tour" only announced Thursday screenings at the last minute, leaving many fans no chance to rearrange plans. As a result, Swift's film only made $2.8 million in Thursday previews en route to a $37.5 million Friday. It should also be noted that showtimes on Friday didn't even start until 6 p.m. If Swift had announced Thursday previews as soon as tickets went on sale, and if showtimes had been going on all day Friday, who knows? The record posted by "Joker" may well have been toppled.
Much like "Joker" owns the record for an R-rated movie, "The Eras Tour" is going to own the record for the highest-grossing concert movie ever when all's said and done — and likely by a pretty wide margin. In that way, these two wildly different movies are alike. King and Queen of their respective cinematic hill. The Clown Prince of Crime and the current queen of pop music at the top of their game.
"Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" is in theaters now.