To no one's surprise, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour easily won the box office battle this weekend, knocking off the previous week's champ, The Exorcist: Believer, which moved up its release to avoid competing with Swift.
Swift's film took in between $95 and $97 million (USD) in North America, making it the highest grossing concert film opening of all time, smashing the previous record holder, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never ($29.5m). The next target will be Michael Jackson’s posthumous 2009 concert film, This Is It, which holds the global record for total box office gross of $380 million.
Depending on total box office receipts, The Eras Tour could also break the record for highest box office opening of a film released in October, which is currently held by Joker at $96 million.
Scheduled to open this past Friday (October 13), Swift surprised fans by announcing a sneak-peek, surprise release on Thursday evening.
Upon entry into the theatres, fans were encouraged to get up from their seats, sing, dance and even take over the room (as long as they kept the stairs and emergency exits free).
And if you want to know how the fans felt about the film, look no further than Toronto's own star Swiftie Simu Liu, who attended the Hollywood premiere. He called it "a magnetic force of a tour, captured perfectly for the theatre. couldn't have asked for a better movie night!"
a magnetic force of a tour, captured perfectly for the theatre. couldn't have asked for a better movie night! pic.twitter.com/x0PO8aTaWT
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) October 12, 2023