Normally, with the release of a new movie, you’ll get weekly box office results. Sometimes every few days.Taylor Swiftisn’t just anybody though. The biggest star in music not only broke the AMC app, butshe’s breaking records at the box office just by virtue of being Taylor Swift, and now she’s heading for a galaxy far, far away, with her own Red lightsaber.
Having already smoked AMC’s presale ticket record by raking in $26 million on its first day, theTaylor Swift: The Eras Tourconcert film has gone beyond that, as exclusively revealed by Deadline. The outlet reports that the film has actually collected more than $37 million in presales from the three big theater circuits, AMC, Regal and Cinemark, within the first 24 hours of presales. That’s almost double the presales ofStar Wars: The Force Awakens.
As of the moment, the initial weekend earnings estimate forTaylor Swift: The Eras Tourstands at an unbelievable $70 million. Industry insiders suggest that approximately half of this figure is expected to come from advance ticket sales. It’s worth noting that films with a predominantly female audience, likeTwilight, tend to see a front-loaded box office performance. In the case of Swifties,their enthusiastic support is likely to result in packed theaters during the opening weekend, as other movies run for cover.Wanda Gierhart Fearing, Chief Marketing and Content Officer, released a statement (most likely while hovering in mid-air through sheer joy), adding:
“The record-breaking advance sales happening at our theaters across the United States for Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour showcase the incomparable joy that comes from taking in unbelievable content in an immersive environment together with friends, family and fellow fans…Her tour’s sensational attraction, which is now continuing across exhibition, drove frenzied traffic to our website and app the moment tickets went on sale, and we are ready for Swifties to be enchanted by this concert film in the unprecedented number of auditoriums we have booked to meet demand for the shared, musical experience.”
Setting New Standards for Concert Movies
The opening weekend of theEras Touris on track to set a new record for debut earnings inthe concert movie category, overshadowing all previous notable releases. It has the potential to outperform the entire domestic box office earnings of other concert films within the sub-genre, such asHannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert($31 million opening, $65.2 million final in 2008),Michael Jackson’s This Is It($23.2 million, $72 million in 2009), andJustin Bieber: Never Say Never($29.5 million opening, $73 million total).
The Eras Touropens in theaters on October 13. Check out the trailer below:
