‘Taylor Swift: The Elus Tour’ opens at number one with $95 million to $97 million

Movie theaters were transformed into concert venues this weekend as the Swifties brought their dance moves and friendship bracelets to multiplexes across the country. Driven by unparalleled enthusiasm, “Taylor Swift: The Elus Tour” debuted at No. 1 in North America with $95 million to $97 million, AMC Theaters announced Sunday.

This is arguably the biggest opening ever for a concert film, surpassing 2011’s Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, which grossed $73 million, not accounting for inflation. In today’s money, that’s about $102 million. And if the high end of expectations is reached when the tally is released on Monday, it could be the biggest October opening ever. The winner is “Joker,” which released in 2019 for $96.2 million.

A unique experiment in distribution, premium pricing, star power, and lax movie theater etiquette with more dancing and screaming than a Star Wars premiere made the film an undeniable hit. The film, compiled from Swift’s summer show at Southern California’s SoFi Stadium, opened in 3,855 locations across North America, starting with a “surprise” screening Thursday night. These running times boosted the film’s opening day box office to $39 million, making it the second-highest-grossing October film ever, behind Joker’s $39.3 million.

“This is an incredible number,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore. “Having a blockbuster-style weekend opening for a concert film is unprecedented.”

Swift, who produced the film, went through the Hollywood studio system to distribute the film, signing a direct deal with AMC, the largest box office company in the United States. With his 274 million followers on Instagram, Swift needed little traditional marketing to get the word out.

Beyoncé has signed a similar deal with the exhibitor for “Renaissance: The Movies by Beyoncé,” which will be released on December 1st. The two superstars posed together at the premiere of “The Elas Tour” in Los Angeles earlier this week. The 90-day strike required an injection of star power from Hollywood actors, leaving most red carpets without glamorous talent and resulting in some high-profile productions being postponed to next year.

“The Eras Tour,” directed by Sam Wrench, isn’t just coming to AMC screens either. The Leawood, Kansas-based company worked with sub-distribution partners Variance Films, Trafalgar Releasing, Cinepolis and Cineplex to screen the film in more than 8,500 theaters in 100 countries around the world.

The attention on Swift has been especially strong lately as a result of his relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The two made separate surprise appearances on “Saturday Night Live” this weekend and were also photographed holding hands in New York.

This led to some hyperbolic predictions over the weekend, with some analysts predicting that “The Eras Tour” could gross more than $125 million. Dergarabedian said it’s common for huge brands like Swift to have inflated expectations. There’s also no precedent for something like “The Eras Tour” or for a celebrity like Swift to perform.

“The laws of gravity don’t apply to Taylor Swift,” Dergarabedian said.

The film received high scores from both critics and audiences, giving it an A+ CinemaScore. CinemaScore is usually an indicator that a movie will continue to do well beyond its first weekend.

Elizabeth Frank, executive vice president of worldwide programming and chief content officer for AMC Theaters, said in a statement that she is grateful to Taylor Swift.

“Her amazing performance delighted her fans and she even dressed up and danced in the movie,” Frank said. “Due to strong endorsements and fans purchasing tickets to see this concert film multiple times, the ‘Taylor Swift: The Elus Tour’ concert film will be in front of large audiences over the coming weeks. We hope it will be screened.”

The international stadium tour famously crashed on Ticketmaster’s website, resulting in astronomical resale prices. Polestar expects to earn about $1.4 billion. This concert film offered fans both better seats and a much more affordable way to watch the show for the first time or even for his fifth time. The price was higher than the national average, at $19.89, a nod to her birth year and her 2014 album, and closer to $29 apiece on premium large-format screens like IMAX. Still, it’s significantly less than stadium show seating.

Showtimes are also more limited than a standard Hollywood blockbuster, but AMC guarantees at least four showings a day on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at all AMC stores in the United States. Also, many places clearly state that there are no refunds or exchanges. And fans will have to wait a while until “The Eras Tour” is available to stream — it was given an exclusive theatrical run for 13 weeks as part of the AMC deal.

Michael O’Leary, CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners, said in a statement that this moment is “another landmark weekend for movie theaters.”

“This year has been an unprecedented experience for moviegoers in movie theaters across the country,” O’Leary continued in a statement. “The debut of the Elas Tour proves once again that fans are eager to share other experiences in a common way, and theater owners are excited to build memorable moments in their theaters. We are working creatively on this.”

O’Leary said a survey of 6,000 people conducted by his organization and the Cinema Foundation found that 72% would like to see concert films on bigger screens.

“Eras Tour” accounted for over 70% of the weekend’s total box office revenue. In its second weekend, “The Exorcist: Believer” was a distant second with $11 million, followed by “Paw Patrol” in third place with $7 million. Rounding out the top five were “Saw X” with his $5.7 million and “The Creator” with his $4.3 million.

“This is great news for theaters,” Dergarabedian said. “‘The Eras Tour’ wasn’t even on our radar in mid-August. If we took that out of the equation, it would have been a very different weekend.”

Estimated ticket sales from Friday through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Final national figures will be released on Monday.

1. “Taylor Swift: The Elus Tour,” $95 million to $97 million.

2. “The Exorcist: Believer,” $11 million.

3. “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” $7 million.

4. “Saw X,” $5.7 million.

5. “The Creator,” $4.3 million.

6. “Ghosts of Venice,” $2.1 million.

7. “The Blind,” $2 million.

8. “The Nun II,” $1.6 million.

9. “The Equalizer 3,” $960,000.

10. “Dumb Money,” $920,000.