Taylor Swift revived the fall box office this weekend with the premiere of her Eras Tour concert film, which easily won the weekend with $96 million in U.S. sales, according to data from Box Office Mojo—after Swift’s tour grossed nearly $800 million.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 11: Taylor Swift attends the “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” Concert Movie World Premiere at AMC The Grove 14 on October 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for TAS)
Getty Images for TAS
Key Facts
Swift’s concert film—which runs just under three hours and was filmed during the final leg of her North American tour earlier this year—brought in $96 million, though distributor AMC is breaking protocol and not putting out a final gross total until Monday morning.
The film could fall shy of the predicted $100 million opening weekend, which some experts attributed to the lack of walk-up business available for showings due to many pre-purchasing tickets to the sold-out showings, the Hollywood Reporter wrote.
At the global box office—Eras Tour also released in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia, Germany and the Philippines—the movie brought in between $126 and $130 million in its opening weekend, Variety reported, and will premiere in even more countries, including Brazil and Hong Kong, on November 3.
In its first weekend in theaters, the Eras Tour film also took the title of highest-grossing concert film domestically, beating out Justin Bieber: Never Say Never’s $73 million run and Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which previously held second place with a $72 million U.S. total, according to Box Office Mojo data.
The Exorcist: Believer took second place this weekend, bringing in $11 million in its second weekend, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie took the No. 3 spot at the box office, earning an additional $7 million, according to Variety, bringing its total North American box office revenue after three weeks to just under $50 million.
Big Number
$39 million. That’s how much the Eras Tour film made on its opening day—including about $2.8 million in Thursday previews—across almost 4,000 North American theaters. That $39 million makes Swift’s concert film the second largest October opening day ever, following 2019’s Joker, which brought in $39.3 million.
Surprising Fact
The Eras Tour film had the seventh best opening day of 2023 yet, Deadline reported, and claimed the best opening day of the fall with its $39 million total, bringing new life into the movie season that has been suffering while actors remain on strike and are unable to promote projects. For the year, it’s between this year’s hit films Oppenheimer, which brought in $43 million and The Little Mermaid, which earned $38 million, according to Variety.
Taylor Swift attends the “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” Concert Movie World Premiere at AMC The Grove 14 on October 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for TAS)
Getty Images for TAS
Key Background
The Eras Tour hit stadiums for the first time back in March, and Swift went on to play more than 50 stadiums across the U.S. in what has been her most lucrative tour yet—grossing more than $780 million and earning Swift an estimated $305 million, according to Forbes’ estimates. The tour, which was the top tour of 2023, grossed more than double what Beyoncé took home for her Renaissance Tour, which also ran over the summer. And Swift is just getting started: The second half of the Eras Tour is set to resume November 9 with shows in Asia and Europe before she returns to North America. By the time it finishes next year, it is expected to be the first tour to gross well over a billion dollars.
What To Watch For
If theaters stick with the current plan for the film. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is set to remain in theaters for four total weekends and will only be available to see Thursday through Sundays, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Tangent
Swift was in the news for more than just her movie this weekend. On Saturday night, she swung by the season premiere of Saturday Night Live to make a special appearance introducing musical act Ice Spice. She played the role of special guest alongside her rumored-boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who also made an appearance in the season’s opening sketch that mocked Swift’s influence on the NFL in recent weeks.
This post originally appeared on Forbes.com
