FEATURE: A New Eras: The Phenomenal Taylor Swift’s Tour Coming to Theatres and New Access and Insight for Fans

FEATURE:

 

 

A New Eras

IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift performs for the opening night of The Eras Tour at State Farm Stadium on Friday, 17th March, 2023 in Swift City, Ariz. The city of Glendale, Ariz., was ceremonially renamed Swift City for Friday and Saturday in honor of the tour/PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Rights Mama

 

The Phenomenal Taylor Swift’s Tour Coming to Theatres and New Access and Insight for Fans

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SOMEONE who I thought would definitely have been cast…

in the Barbie film, Taylor Swift is going to create her own cinematic extravaganza herself. I mention the Barbie film, as I thought she would be cast or get a song on the soundtrack. That film brought people together that may not have otherwise watched this type of film. I think that the same will happen regarding Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour coming to the big screen. I am going to get to a news story where we get more details regarding this approaching release. You may not know about Swift’s new tour. Before getting to a point I want to make. GRAMMY listed five reasons why Swift’s Eras Tour will endure and already has this remarkable legacy:

“Whether she's breaking records or breaking Ticketmaster, Taylor Swift has proven time and again that she's one of the most powerful figures in modern music — and the Eras Tour is a manifestation of that.

Since the moment Taylor Swift announced the Eras Tour, there was no denying that it was going to be the tour of the year. From playing impressive two- and three-night stands at stadiums across the country to crashing Ticketmaster upon just the presale, the Eras Tour was making headlines before it even began.

But after witnessing it in person, it's clear that Swift is not just delivering the tour of the year — it's the tour of her generation.

Sure, Beyoncé fans can't wait for her tour this summer; Harry Styles is about to embark on the final leg of his highly successful Love On Tour trek; BLACKPINK sold out stadiums around the country too. Yet, it's hard to imagine that any other tour this year will have a cultural impact as big as the Eras Tour — something that's wildly apparent whether or not you were there.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TAS 

Even before Swift hit the stage for her first night at Nashville's Nissan Stadium on May 5, her influence was felt. Practically every fan of the 70,000 in attendance (a record for the venue — more on that later) was wearing some sort of reference to their favorite Swift era: a beloved lyric, or an iconic performance or music video look. While that's not necessarily a new trend in the Swiftie world, seeing all 10 of her eras represented throughout a stadium-sized crowd was equal parts meaningful and remarkable.

As someone who has been to hundreds of tours and most of Swift's — including the Reputation Tour, which I naively referred to as "the peak of her career" — I didn't think this one would feel much different than a typical stadium show. But even when Swift was just a few songs in of her impressive three-and-a-half hour set, a feeling came over me like I wasn't just watching one of music's greats — I was part of music history.

Below, here are five reasons why the Eras Tour will go down as one of the most iconic of Swift's generation.

It's Treated Like A Holiday

In the week leading up to the shows and over the weekend, Nashville was abundant with special events in Swift's honor. From Taylor-themed trivia nights to pre- and post-show dance parties to wine lists transformed into "eras," practically every place you went was commemorating her return (she last performed in Nashville in 2018).

While it's unclear whether this kind of takeover is happening in every city — after all, she does consider Nashville a hometown, as she said on stage — it's rare to see an artist have such a ripple effect by simply just coming to town.

During her May 5 show, Swift added to the excitement by sharing the highly anticipated news that Speak Now (Taylor's Version) was coming on July 7. Upon the announcement, three of Nashville's monuments — the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, the Tennessee State Capitol and the Alliance Bernstein building downtown — were illuminated in purple, the album's color.

 It's Breaking Records Left And Right

Though Swift is no stranger to breaking records, she continues to do so with the Eras Tour. After setting the all-time attendance record at Nissan Stadium on night one of her Nashville run, Swift topped herself (something has become accustomed to on the charts as well) with another attendance record on night two.

And despite the controversial ticketing frenzy the tour caused, Swift also broke a Ticketmaster record with more than 2.4 million tickets sold — the most by an artist in a single day — in the presale alone. If Swift announces an international leg of the tour, Pollstar projects that the Eras Tour could surpass $1 billion, which would add yet another first to her ever-growing list.

It's Spawned Parking Lot Parties

As if history-making attendance and record-breaking ticket sales aren't indication enough of Swift's power, the Eras Tour is so highly in-demand that fans are sitting outside of the venue to still be part of the show (as some fans have cleverly called it, "Taylorgating"). Fans crowded barricades and camped out in the parking lot of Nissan Stadium, ready to watch (and scream-sing along with) Swift on the big screen — something that has seemingly been happening in every city.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TAS

It Can't Be Stopped By The Elements

Adding to the magnitude of the Eras Tour, Swift performs 45 songs across three and a half hours. And to make her last night in Nashville even more momentous, she did almost all of that in pouring rain.

Swift didn't get to take the stage until after 10 p.m. on May 7 because of storms in the area (she normally goes on around 7:50 local time), but that didn't mean she'd be shortening her set. Carrying on until after 1:30 a.m. — even through the "element of slippiness happening," as she joked — Swift made it clear that she's determined to give each show her all regardless of the weather.

It's Simply A Feel-Good Celebration

Perhaps it was the five-year gap between the last time she toured. Perhaps it was the four new albums of material. Perhaps it was the celebratory nature of the show. Whatever inspired the vibe of the Eras Tour, I've never seen Taylor Swift or her fans so alive. The passion was tangible, the energy was magnetic.

Though Swift has always been known as an artist with a very loyal following, it was still mind-blowing to hear 70,000 people belt out every word for three hours straight. There aren't many artists whose catalogs are as equally beloved as they are extensive, especially one who hasn't even seen her 34th birthday. No matter how many albums and tours are in Swift's future, the Eras Tour captures a special moment in time — and celebrates a legend in her prime”.

If you are curious as to what form Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour will take when it comes to the screen,. this article from The Guardian explains more. With tickets already on tour, it has already broken records. It is going to be a rare occasion where a concert film is going to have the same sort of buzz and impact as a Hollywood film:

“Taylor Swift broke an AMC record on Thursday with $26m in presale tickets for her Eras tour concert film, besting Spider Man: No Way Home’s $16.9m. That brings Swift’s total pre-sale haul to $37m, according to Deadline, including tickets sold by AMC, Regal and Cinemark – higher than the first day presales of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which will run for four weekends starting 13 October, seems poised for a huge box office haul – Deadline projects a $70m opening weekend – so much so that it has affected the fall release schedule. Horror sequel The Exorcist: Believer was originally slated to enter theaters on 13 October, is now premiering a week earlier, on 6 October. ““Look what you made me do. The Exorcist: Believer moves to 10/6/23,” producer Jason Blum wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday, along with the hashtag #TaylorWins. The film stars Ellen Burstyn, Leslie Odom Jr and Ann Dowd.

The concert film, which captures Swift’s billion-dollar, career-spanning, cultural moment of a tour, has thrown a wrench into the October release calendar, including Apple and Paramount’s Killers of the Flower Moon, set to premiere on 20 October. Martin Scorsese’s three-plus-hour historical epic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone, arguably appeals to a different audience than The Eras Tour, but both will compete for showtime slots, though Killers of the Flower Moon has a lock on Imax screens.

The announcement of the release comes just days after Warner Bros decided to move the hotly anticipated sequel Dune: Part Two to March next year as a result of the strikes. It also comes after both Barbie and Oppenheimer broke box office records this past summer.

A member of Sag-Aftra, the 33-year-old pop star was reportedly granted a union waiver to film during the strikes, according to Billboard. The two-hour, 45-minute concert film, directed by Sam Wrench (who has also filmed concert specials for Billie Eilish, Lizzo and Brandi Carlile), was shot over three nights in August at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, where Swift capped the 52-date American leg of her tour.

The projected $70m opening would set a record for a theatrical concert film, outpacing Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert ($31M opening in 2008), Michael Jackson’s This Is It ($23.2M in 2009) and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never ($29.5M opening in 2011).

AMC is reportedly adding additional showings to keep up with demand when “necessary and available”.

There is going to be merchandise too that you can buy. This incredible cinematic experience is going to be one that Taylor Swift fans will flock to see. I think that other concert films should follow. Maybe Beyoncé will bring the Renaissance World Tour to the big screen. That tour runs until 1st October. One of the biggest tours in recent memory, I would really like to see that! I can’t remember when a tour was brought to the big screen. We think that music is this industry where gigs are only seen in the flesh. You do get filmed gigs that are shared to YouTube, but they don’t have the same sort of atmosphere and impact as seeing it for real. By seeing some of Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour on the big screen, it will usher a new wave of cinematic treats from big artists. There is going to be behind the scenes stuff and insights into the backstage and preparation for the tour. It will sit alongside music documentaries of the past that have provided intimate access to the artist and a look at the big stage. There are many people who did not get the chance to see Taylor Swift live. Demand was enormous! This, coupled with the fact that tickets were quite expensive, means that this easier and more affordable access will get a lot of new people invested in her music. I have become a bigger Swift fans through the past few years. I have never seen her live, though I am interested in going to see the concert film. With films like Barbie, cinema has become more of a communal thing. I do feel like music films and concert documentaries will have that ability to join people in a way most films do not. It will unite new and long-term Taylor Swift fans alike. Very soon, we will see this record-breaking and phenomenal tour…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift performs onstage during Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour at SoFi Stadium on 3rd August, 2023 in Inglewood, California/PHOTO CREDIT: Emma McIntyre/TAS23/Getty Images

ON the big screen.

Sam Liddicott