Taylor Swift loves to set records, and she’s just done it again. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour—her PG-13 movie that trims six performances at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium into a nearly three-hour-long, career-spanning show—just had the biggest concert film opening weekend ever. It earned an estimated $126 million in movie theaters globally this weekend, with $95 million coming from North American theaters and $31 million from 94 international territories, reports The New York Times. The Thursday preview screenings Swift added last minute grossed $2.8 million.
The 2011 movie Justin Bieber: Never Say Never previously held the title of the biggest opening weekend for a concert film with $41 million in North American theaters and $138 million worldwide (both numbers adjusted for inflation). As for total ticket sales, 2009’s Michael Jackson’s This Is It has yet to be dethroned with or without adjusting for inflation, bringing in today’s equivalent of $105 million in North America and $380 million worldwide during its entire run.
Directed by Sam Wrench, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour follows Swift and her dancers onstage as she plays 40 songs from 10 albums, with no backstage or behind-the-scenes footage included. Tickets cost $19.89 for adults, an homage to her birth year and album of the same name, and $13.13, her favorite number, for children under 12 and people over 60. Because she earns 57% of ticket revenue, Swift took home $55 million from this weekend’s North American box office – a worthwhile profit considering the movie cost around $15 million to make.
Beyoncé also made a deal with AMC this year, prepping her concert film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé to open on December 1. A mix of concert footage and behind-the-scenes clips from the Renaissance World Tour, the movie follows the show’s journey from its inception to the opening show in Stockholm, Sweden and on through to the grand finale in Kansas City, Missouri. It’s the first Beyoncé video accompaniment to the Renaissance era, following a “cliquebait” clip for “Break My Soul” and a “brand campaign anthem film” for Tiffany & Co. that used “Summer Renaissance.”
