The Eras Tour concert film will hit theaters in North America starting Oct. 13.
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Look what Taylor Swift made Universal do.
A concert film of Swift’s The Eras Tour is hitting movie theaters Friday, Oct. 13. That was going to be the identical day as the subsequent installment of the “The Exorcist” horror franchise. Now the demonic possession film will probably be released Oct. 6, distributor Universal announced hours after Swift said when her movie would hit.
Alas, the chance for a recent Barbenheimer is lost. Earlier this summer, Warner Bros. Discovery’s “Barbie” and Universal’s “Oppenheimer” hit theaters on the identical day, July 21, resulting in a double-feature cultural event and driving massive box office sales.
The makings for the subsequent big crazy movie double feature were there. Soon after news broke concerning the Eras Tour movie release date, the #Exorswift hashtag began to catch on.
Even Jason Blum, who leads Blumhouse, the studio that produced the brand new horror flick, endorsed the thought.
Blum later tweeted, nevertheless, the hashtag #TaylorWins.
“The Exorcist: Believer” takes place 50 years after the unique film. The film stars Leslie Odom Jr. of “Hamilton” fame and Ellen Burstyn, who starred within the 1973 demonic possession classic.
Missed opportunity?
(*13*)
Based on the 1971 William Peter Blatty novel of the identical name, “The Exorcist” is the second-highest grossing film of all time, when adjusted for inflation.
Photo: Warner Bros.
Could pop star royalty like Swift and two young girls possessed by the devil have had the identical effect as Barbenheimer?
“The Eras Tour has been essentially the most meaningful, electric experience of my life to this point and I’m overjoyed to inform you that it will be coming to the large screen soon,” Swift posted Thursday on X, the positioning formerly referred to as Twitter.
Swift’s concert film documents the wildly popular tour that raked in hundreds of thousands and was on its approach to hit a record-breaking $1 billion in sales earlier this summer.
The film will play on the nation’s largest theater chains including AMC, Regal and Cinemark on weekends until Nov. 5. AMC shares fell greater than 1% Thursday, while Cinemark’s rose greater than 1%.
Moreover, LOOK Cinemas, B&B Theatres, Malco Theatres, Marcus Theatres and Harkins Theatres, alongside other smaller chains will showcase the filmed concert.
The film release comes at a time when Hollywood is grappling with dual labor strikes and the departure of movies like Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s “Dune: Part II” from the 2023 film slate.
“This was the largest concert event of the yr and so many Swifties have been unable to see her live,” said Karen Melton, vp of promoting at Malco Theatres. “We’re excited to make this available to all her fans in our markets.”Malco owns dozens of theaters in Swift’s home state of Tennessee.
Tickets for Swift’s Era Tours concert movie are selling fast and expectations are high for its debut weekend. As soon as tickets went on sale, fans encountered wait times and lags at each AMC Theatres’ website and app.
“Thanks in your patience as we experience high traffic volume. We’ve got proactively created this queue for all visitors,” a message on AMC’s site read. “When it’s your turn, you should have 10 minutes to start your TAYLOR SWIFT | THE ERAS TOUR Concert Film ticket purchase or other online visit.”
Notably, AMC Stubs rewards members won’t find a way to use the loyalty program’s perks to their purchase, meaning they may need to pay full price for tickets. AMC Stubs “A-List” is a monthly membership that offers users the flexibility to see three movies each week with no fees for reservations or upgrading to premium format screens.
The movie show company noted that greater than three million fans attended the tour in the primary leg of its U.S. run, shattering concert sales records.
“It might be unwise to underestimate the ability of Taylor Swift to attract legions of Swifties to the multiplex, however the release [could] also could draw recent fans seeking to get in on the Eras Tour experience,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “This might propel an unprecedented opening weekend that might perhaps top $100 million.”
“The Exorcist: Believer” is predicted to generate between $10 million and $20 million during its now-earlier opening weekend.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal is the distributor of “Oppenheimer” and “The Exorcist: Believer.”