Taylor Swift is back at it again. After smashing records with her Eras tour, the singer is all set to break box office records with her Eras movie. The intensity of Swift mania has even spooked horror flick The Exorcist: Believer to move out of the way. On August 31, Swift announced that her Eras tour is coming to the big screen as a feature film, premiering in AMC theatres only across the US on October 13.

You might remember that Swift's Eras tour completely broke Ticketmaster — additionally, the ticket presales caused a congressional hearing on the matter. Something similar is happening with the movie as well. AMC Entertainment reported that Thursday (August 31) ticket presales for Swift’s film reached $26 million. This is a new record for the century-old company.

Previously, the highest single-day ticket sales record was held by Spider-Man: No Way Home with $16.9 million. According to a report by CNBC, Fandango, which sells tickets for other theatre chains, said the film ranks in the top 10 all-time best first-day presellers, joining the list with Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Spider-Man: No Way Home.

“Taylor Swift is giving moviegoing fans and the entire industry the ultimate gift by bringing (the) Taylor Swift Eras Tour concert film to the big screen,” Jerramy Hainline, Senior Vice President at Fandango Ticketing told CNBC.

Previously, her stadium concerts, drawing crowds of 70,000 people, set records and significantly boosted the hotel industry during the pandemic's aftermath. Now, it appears she's poised to have a similar impact on the movie theatre business.

There's little doubt that Swift will fill theatres with eager fans, and the number of shows she's willing to host will likely determine the extent of her success. According to a report by Inc. analysts predict that her concert movie could easily achieve a $100-million opening weekend, firmly placing it in the list of blockbuster films. This year, only a select few movies such as Barbie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 have surpassed the expected opening box office earnings of Swift's concert movie.

When it comes to IMAX, CNBC reported that it has already sold out more than 250 screenings and is over-indexing on presales. The company told CNBC that it is pulling in the same percentage of presales that it would for a blockbuster tentpole feature.

The Exorcist shift

The creators of the soon-to-be-released movie, The Exorcist: Believer, made an announcement on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday. They have decided to release the horror film one week earlier than planned, moving it away from the same release date as Taylor Swift's Eras tour film, which was originally set for nationwide release on October 13.

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Although both films were initially slated for the same release date, renowned horror producer Jason Blum has chosen to adjust the release date to prevent any potential clash with Swift. In a tweet, Blum, 54, playfully referenced one of Swift's popular songs, saying, Look what you made me do. He then revealed the new release date for The Exorcist: Believer as October 6, 2023.

(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)

First Published:Sept 4, 2023 6:39 PM IST