By Extremely Popular Demand, Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Concert Film Will Open One Day Early
William Shakespeare once wrote:
"I got tired of waiting,
Wonderin' if you were ever comin' around.
My faith in you was fading,
When I met you on the outskirts of town,
and I said, 'Romeo, save me ...'"
Actually, Taylor Swift wrote that, and it's exactly how the continent-sized contingent of Swifties felt when they were told they'd have to wait until October 13 to watch "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour." Well, now you don't have to! In a post shared today on her Instagram (the Leader's favored way of communicating with her subjects), Swift announced that October 13 is too long to wait. We can all soak in the many outfits, anthems, and yes, eras of her most recent global tour on ... October 12!
That may not seem like a big deal. Movies that open on Fridays, as movies often do, just as often open early, on Thursdays and Wednesdays, and special screenings for critics generally happen weeks, even months in advance. It's only one day! Though the move to extend a film's opening date range is the same, the reasons why that decision was made here could not be more different from the norm.
When films open on Wednesdays and Thursdays they often do so to pad opening weekend counts. Adding ticket sales from two additional days to the opening weekend gross that box office analysts scrutinize each week can help boost a film's perceived profile and viability in the marketplace. Taylor Swift needs no such assistance. "The Eras Tour" is doing so spectacularly well in pre-sales that this move can only be explained as supply being dictated by demand, and not the other way around. Simply put: "The Eras Tour" is opening wider because it needs to.
Wait no more
According to /Film's resident box office guru, Ryan Scott, "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" has already broken significant records before even opening. After surprise-announcing the film on August 31, AMC's pre-sale site began to crash from excess traffic almost immediately. And I mean surprise — as very few knew a film had even been made chronicling her recent world tour, least of all the studios, who were furious to be cut out of the deal Swift and her team made directly with AMC Theatres. The same day, Universal and Blumhouse announced they would be moving their $400 million investment, "The Exorcist: Believer," off its coveted Friday the 13th premiere date as to not compete with Swift. Let's hear it for the girls!
"The Eras Tour" film is set to debut to at least $100 million domestically, but as Scott notes, some estimates peg that number as high as $155 million. And that's just domestic, and those estimates were based on a standard opening weekend, not one that begins on Thursday. In her IG post, Swift wrote:
"Due to unprecedented demand we're opening up early access showings of 'The Eras Tour Concert Film' on THURSDAY in America and Canada!! [...] We're also adding additional showtimes Friday and throughout the weekend. All tickets will be available by 10am tomorrow morning. And it'll be showing starting Friday in 90 countries all over the world."
Nobody thought the juggernaut that was Barbenhemier could be topped at this year's box office, but it seems like Swift will compete in the big leagues against the $162 million opening for "Barbie" and a $82 million for "Oppenheimer." For a concert film with no studio support or any marketing prior to an announcement made on Instagram, that's not half bad.
Thoughts and prayers to anyone trying to snag tickets tomorrow morning.