NEW YORK. Greg Marcus, a veteran of the movie industry, never imagined he’d encourage moviegoers to use their phones during a film or make friendship bracelets in preparation for an opening weekend. Yet, the Chief Executive and Chair of the Marcus Corporation, based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is seen in a promotion for his theater chain, stringing beads together while humming “Shake It Off.”
Movie theaters are gearing up for an unprecedented event as “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is set to debut this Friday. The concert film, compiled from multiple Swift performances at Southern California’s SoFi Stadium, is expected to open with earnings of $100 million or more. Worldwide advance ticket sales have already surpassed $100 million.
“This is different,” says Marcus. “Take out your phone. Take selfies. Dance, sing, have a good time. We want to create an atmosphere.”
Concert films are not new, with the classic “Stop Making Sense” by the Talking Heads returning to theaters last month. However, “The Eras Tour” signifies something groundbreaking in the movie industry.
Two of the world’s biggest stars, Taylor Swift, and, in a very similar deal in December, Beyoncé, are entering cinemas in groundbreaking agreements made directly with AMC Theaters, bypassing Hollywood studios and leaving streaming platforms waiting on the sidelines for now.
How did multiplexes, once considered obsolete, become the fall’s go-to destination for stars who were previously at home on Netflix?
As studios started diverting some titles to streaming platforms, movie theaters started exploring how to fill their screens. This challenge was exacerbated this autumn by an actors’ strike leading to the postponement of major releases like “Dune: Part Two.”
Movie theaters are evolving from just venues for movie showtimes to large-screen stages for a variety of visual media. Earlier this year, BTS released a concert film with higher ticket prices and limited showtimes. The Metropolitan Opera has been broadcasting popular live events in theaters for years.
Not many acts can match the appeal of Swift and Beyoncé, making their expected success difficult to replicate. However, “The Eras Tour” could mark the beginning of an expansion of what a movie theater can offer, similar to “The Sphere,” but more affordable and in most towns.
Greg Marcus says, “You could say we’re in the movie business, but really we’re in the getting-together-with-other-people business. The more we do of it, the more the customers will think about it, and the more talent will go: This is something I could do.”
Swift’s team was eager to release the film even as her stadium tour continued internationally. The tour, projected to gross around $1.4 billion, faced high resale mark-ups, leaving many fans unable to attend. The film, directed by Sam Wrench, provides millions more with the opportunity to experience the Eras Tour. Adult tickets are being sold for $19.89, referencing her birth year and 2014 album. This is higher than the average movie ticket but significantly less than many live Swift concert tickets.
Moreover, the film’s release is exceptionally swift, arriving just over two months after the SoFi shows. Speed was a key factor in Swift’s father, Scott Swift, seeking a direct deal with AMC. Swift produced the film herself, and with 274 million Instagram followers, she didn’t require a studio for promotion.
Swift’s rumored relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has also drawn more attention to the movie. Despite minimal TV advertising, with TV ads for the film running only a few dozen times as of October 6, it challenges traditional movie marketing methods.
The revenue from ticket sales will be divided, with theaters receiving 43%, and Swift and AMC sharing 57%, with the majority going to Swift. The film will exclusively screen in theaters for at least 13 weeks, longer than many Hollywood releases. AMC CEO Adam Aron hailed the deal as “a coup for AMC” on social media.
Both AMC and Swift’s representatives declined to comment on the film’s release.
After the Los Angeles premiere on Wednesday, there will be no advance screenings until the movie begins playing at 6 p.m. local time on Friday. This departure from the traditional release schedule challenges Hollywood norms.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore, believes the two concert films will help boost the North American box office to over $9 billion in 2023, up from $7.4 billion in the previous year and approaching the $11.4 billion of 2019. He says it opens up the idea that other types of content can perform well in movie theaters.
The disruption in the movie industry has been facilitated by the removal of long-standing antitrust restrictions governing movie distribution. The Paramount consent decrees, which had regulated the separation of exhibition and distribution for more than 70 years, were terminated in 2020.
Makan Delrahim, the former antitrust chief at the Justice Department, believes that “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” could “fuel new business models to save the exhibitors” and lead to the exploration of different models for theatrical distribution, benefiting both the industry and consumers.
Meanwhile, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is on track to become the biggest concert film ever in just two days of release. Not accounting for inflation, the record is held by “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never” with $73.1 million across its entire run in 2011. Adjusted for inflation, it will be challenging for “The Eras Tour” to surpass “Woodstock,” which grossed $50 million in 1970, equivalent to nearly $400 million today.
In Marcus’ theaters, as well as in other chains, friendship bracelet stations will be set up. Sound systems have been adjusted to create a concert-like atmosphere. Despite the AMC logo appearing before films in his theaters, Marcus is pleased, saying, “I’m just happy it’s there.”
