Taylor Swift has been on tour since March and with the end of the North American leg, the singer has announced that Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour will be in theaters in North America on October 13th, 2023 so fans who didn’t see the concert live can still experience it.
The film made $26 million in presale tickets in just three hours of being on sale, an AMC record, announced by the movie theater company Swift is working with. The prices are higher than normal with adults being charged $19.89, and children and seniors being $13.13.
Several movies have changed their release dates so as not to compete with Swift at the box office, such as The Exorcist: Believer and What Happens Later, proving the singer’s influence.
With the upcharge in movie tickets, some fans have been complaining about the price of tickets. When asked what she thought, Taylor Swift fan Momoe Tanaka answered, “I think it’s fair. She could’ve charged a lot more and people would still pay.” As many know, Taylor Swift concert tickets are extremely expensive and in very high demand. The movie ticket prices are far cheaper than concert tickets of course, but still higher than normal.
The in-theater concert poses the question: was the singer looking to profit off of her tour even more than she already had or was it purely so that more and more of her fans could experience the concert with other swifties at a reduced price? Harley Lucht, a sophomore at Central, thinks, “Probably both honestly. Obviously this is Taylor’s career, but it is for the fans as well.”
In her Instagram post, Taylor Swift encourages fans to dress up, trade bracelets, and sing and dance along. Lucht said, “Actually seeing Taylor is only part of the fun. You also get to meet other swifties, and the film gives that opportunity.”
There are quite a few questions wondering what exactly will make it into the film. Will it show the stage set up? Will costume changes be shown? What surprise songs does Swift plan to add? Will it be the entire performance, or just parts? The concert itself is approximately three and a half hours long, starting at around 8:00 pm and ending usually at about 11:30 pm, and the film’s runtime is only 2 hours and 45 minutes, so it can’t just be one concert recorded in full. The singer may have just cut out applause and transitions. When asked what she hoped would be included, Nina Nieto, a junior at Central, said, “I hope for behind the scenes in theaters, but an option on streaming for just the performances.”
In the past with her Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour, Swift put her film on Netflix right away, skipping the theaters. This poses the question of why Swift made the decision to put Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in theaters. There are many benefits and drawbacks to it being in theaters instead of streaming services: a benefit being a group experience with many people excited about the same thing as you, a drawback being higher costs. When asked, Nieto said, “The theater gives it a more concert-like experience.”
Taylor Swift’s influence is obviously very widespread throughout the music industry and now she’s diving into film. With her supremely dedicated fans and previous Netflix success, she already has a great head start. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour may be the first of many films Swift puts in theaters.
