Turns out a massive opening weekend wasn’t the only record that Taylor Swift’s concert film was destined to shatter. As Pitchfork’s Nina Corcoran reported this weekend, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is now the highest-grossing concert film of all time, eclipsing the record previously held by Michael Jackson’s This Is It.
The Jackson concert film had a worldwide box office of $261.2 million total — but with the release of The Eras Tour in China, Swift’s film passed it, with its global box office tally now at $261.6 million. That comparison comes via Variety, which also noted that the film’s massive opening weekend accounts for more than a third of its total box office earnings.
As of last October, The Wrap reported that the remainder of the top five highest-grossing concert films worldwide were Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert and One Direction: This Is Us.
It’s worth mentioning that Swift’s concert film wasn’t the only high-profile documentary of its kind to debut in 2023. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé has grossed over $33 million in the U.S., according to Box Office Mojo — that, combined with its international box office, would easily place it in the top 10 as well.
Taylor Swift’s Concert Film Had a Huge Opening Weekend
A wildly successful tour leads to a wildly successful concert filmWhat does this mean for the future of watching music at the movies? “[Swift’s] spectacular performance delighted fans around the world and serves as another strong reminder about the power of extraordinary filmmaking and magic of movie theaters,” AMC CEO Adam Aron told Variety. This begs the question: when will we see a version of the Nicole Kidman spot in which Kidman is watching nothing but clips from The Eras Tour?
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