‘Unprecedented’ opening weekend vaults Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour to top of box office | CBC News

Movie theatres turned into concert venues this weekend as Swifties brought their dance moves and friendship bracelets to multiplexes across North America. The unparalleled enthusiasm helped propel Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour to a massive, first place debut between $95 million and $97 million US in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, AMC Theatres said Sunday.

It’s easily the biggest opening for a concert film of all time and, not accounting for inflation, has made more than the $73 million Justin Bieber: Never Say Never earned in 2011. In today’s dollars, that would be around $102 million. And if it comes in on the higher end of projections when totals are released Monday, it could be the biggest October opening ever. The one to beat is Joker, which launched to $96.2 million in 2019.

A unique experiment in distribution, premium pricing, star power and loose movie theatre etiquette — more dancing and shouting than a Star Wars premiere — have made it an undeniable hit. Compiled from Swift’s summer shows at Southern California’s SoFi Stadium, the film opened in 3,855 North American locations starting with “surprise” Thursday evening previews. Those showtimes helped boost its opening day sum to $39 million — the second biggest ever for October, behind Joker‘s $39.3 million.

“This is a phenomenal number,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “To have a blockbuster style opening weekend for a concert film is unprecedented.”

Swift, who produced the film, went around the Hollywood studio system to distribute the film, making a deal directly with AMC, the largest exhibition company in the United States. With her 274 million Instagram followers, Swift hardly needed a traditional marketing campaign to get the word out.

WATCH | Swift, Beyoncé attempt to pack movie theatres like stadiums: 

Taylor Swift and Beyoncé attempt to pack movie theatres like stadiums

Featured VideoMusic’s two reigning queens of pop are attempting to replicate their stadium-filling success with film versions of their tours in theatres. Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour arrives in theatres Friday, while Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé is set to premiere in December.

Beyoncé made a similar deal with the exhibitor for Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé, which will open on Dec. 1. The two superstars posed together at the premiere of The Eras Tour