The film's emerging success in unusual theatre etiquette poses the question: What’s next for movie theatres?
By Isabella Iula
Local Swiftie Isabella Iula at the Cineplex theatre at Yonge-Dundas Square in Toronto on Oct. 28, 2023. She is leaving the Eras Tour concert film with her new Taylor Swift merch and friendship bracelets. (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour film is bringing people back to theatres through its new entertainment strategies pinpointed at audience participation.
The Eras Tour celebrates the infamous singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and her musical journey through the span of 10 albums. Each album represents a different story or ‘era’ in Swift’s life, so she decided to create a concert to honour all the albums that brought her tremendous success in music, and now the film industry.
The highly anticipated film directed by Sam Wrench follows the one and only Taylor Swift on her live The Eras Tour performances at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., in the United States. The film invites audiences to experience the movie as if it were a live performance.
Swift encourages audiences to dress up in “Era’s attire,” exchange friendship bracelets, sing and dance along to their favourite songs in the theatre.
First-time The Eras Tour film attendee Ally Magbalon said the film’s interactive elements helped her emotionally connect with the audience both on and off-screen.
“You can tell everyone just loves everyone in that concert and in that theatre,” said Magbalon. “It feels real like I'm in that concert.”.
Three-time Eras Tour movie attendee Hadar Zaidman added how the film gives fellow Swifties like herself a space to embrace their fandom free of judgement.
“I think it's nice to be able to experience [the film] with other people who feel the same way you do and to not be judged for your obsession with the artist,” said Zaidman.
Victoria Sands, a part-time lecturer and PhD student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), studies Taylor Swift and her role in media and fan culture. Sands said the movie helps connect audiences to Taylor Swift by involving them in her fan practices.
“[Taylor Swift] has this thing she always does, which is to bring fans into the content itself and the product itself, so that the success of the product is intertwined with fans’ embrace of it and fans’ participation," she said.
Sands added how engaging with Swift’s fan culture brings movie audiences into her “story-world.”
“[Taylor Swift] divided her content into eras that make up each piece of the film at each piece of the show, so that gives the viewers these different worlds that they can be immersed into,” said Sands.
According to Sands, such fan practices allows movie-goers to understand the film from a Swiftie’s perspective.
“Of course, people will want to see a concert movie of a concert they want to see. That's understandable. But there's also something to it for the ability to participate in this huge cultural phenomenon that is The Eras Tour,” she said.
By encouraging audiences to step outside the traditional theatre etiquette, it helps create a sense of community surrounding the film. Sands said it allows fans to feel seen, heard, and appreciated for their dedication to the artist’s work.
“Part of this cultural phenomenon is fans' reactions. So The Eras Tour film has to include the Swifties because they've become part of the brand and the story,” said Sands.
Zaidman said The Eras Tour film is a virtual gateway for people to attend the concert without the hassle of finding tickets or spending outrageous amounts of money.
“You still get the whole concert experience, but in a movie theatre,” she said.
Taylor Swift singing Enchanted from her Speak Now album during the Eras Tour film (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
Since The Eras Tour film debuted back in October, domestic box-office sales reached $92.8 million, setting the record for the highest grossing concert film to date.
Jeff Knoll, the CEO of Film.ca, an independent cinema in Oakville, said the film’s immersive experience brought in locals outside the location’s usual crowd of moviegoers.
“We saw people coming to the theatre who haven’t been to the theatre in years,” said Knoll.
The film’s financial success has audiences wondering if concert films are the next big investment for theatres going forward, especially with Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour film coming out in December.
According to Knoll, the answer is unclear.
“I'm not sure if it's going to be a long-term sustainable thing or not or whether it's going to become a trend. We'll have to wait and see,” he said.
However, that is not to say these concert films won’t help drive in customers.
Knoll mentioned how their theatre’s private screening room was booked out for the first two weeks of the film's screening.
“It's really cool to see folks enjoying a movie in a theatre. It's going to be good for the industry,” said Knoll.
The Eras Tour film also gives smaller, independent theatres like Film.ca an opportunity to create an event around the film’s premiere. During the film’s release, the theatre hosted photo-ops and sold personalized, collectable merchandise.
Knoll describes this engagement method as “showmandizing,” an old-fashioned marketing strategy where theatres design events and merchandise specifically for the film and its fanbase.
“We always find ways to sort of engage the audience beyond just coming to a movie and Taylor Swift offered lots of opportunities to do that,” he said.
For example, Film.ca created a Taylor Swift-inspired promo video to encourage people to experience the Eras Tour film from their screening rooms.
Not only has the Eras Tour brought back audiences to theatres, but unlike most theatrical releases, The Eras Tour film is not backed by a major Hollywood studio.
According to a press release issued by AMC Theatres, Swift worked out a deal to have the film distributed directly through the movie theatres. The company also worked with sub-distribution partners such as Cineplex to show the film internationally.
Swift’s decision to bypass the Hollywood studios is sparking a trend among celebrities and independent film distribution. For example, Beyoncé already sealed a similar deal with AMC Theatres for her upcoming film.
Swift’s movie deal also creates new financial opportunities for the theatres themselves. With potential Hollywood blockbusters delayed for another one or two years, The Eras Tour film cuts out the middleman to help theatre businesses stay afloat.
Knoll mentioned the film’s unique and timely release is currently helping theatres who are struggling to compete with the rise of streaming services and still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was an important product for us to have access to during this very slow period,” said Knoll.
Whether or not other concert films receive the same hype and success rate, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is changing people’s movie-going expectations.
The film strays from the traditional movie-watching experience to give Swifties and theatres something far more rewarding.
“It’s iconic, incredible and everything we know and love Taylor Swift for,” said Zaidman.