Taylor Swift brings music craze back to the box office

By Auzinea Bacon, CNN

(CNN) — After another bittersweet end to the summer box office season, American multiplexes are going to “shake it off.”

The AMC-distributed “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” opened Friday as part of a three-day run in 3,700 theaters to coincide with Swift’s 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” providing a much-needed lift for movie theaters. The movie pulled in $15.8 million domestically on Friday, according to a statement AMC shared with CNN, and is expected to earn up to $30 million domestically over the three-day weekend.

The limited theatrical run comes about two years after the release of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” which was the biggest opening weekend for a concert movie ($93 million domestically) and the highest-grossing concert movie domestically ($180 million), according to Box Office Mojo.

While “The Eras Tour” movie was a collection of concert scenes spread across three days at one venue, “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” is similar to the private listening parties Swift hosted in 2017. The 89-minute movie includes a music video, behind-the-scenes footage, lyric videos and Swift’s personal reflections on songs from the album, according to AMC’s website.

Swift had given short notice to her fans, announcing the release of the movie just two weeks ago in an Instagram post. “I hereby invite you to a *dazzling* soirée, The Official Release Party of. Showgirl: Oct 3 – Oct 5 only in cinemas!” read the caption on September 19.

Many of Swift’s fans, who are young adults and teenagers, are among the demographics that prefer real-world experiences rather than sitting at home. Forty-eight percent of Gen Zers and 45% of Millennials prefer watching movies in theaters, and 59% of Gen Alpha prefer the in-theater experience, according to National Research Group.

The preference of Swift’s fans to watch the movie in theaters is in part due to the social aspects of seeing the movie with an audience, which has been important for the tight-knit fanbase. Eighty percent of Swifties said they “formed deep friendships” because of Swift, according to research firm The Harris Poll.

“The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” comes after the summer box office grossed $3.67 billion in domestic revenue, according to Comscore, short of the $4 billion target and below the summer of 2023, when the “Barbenheimer” craze drew increased ticket sales.

“For movie theaters, this is fantastic because it is yet another revenue stream that may not have been expected or perhaps underestimated,” said Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Comscore. He compared the box office boost to “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle,” an anime movie that was an unexpected hit in the typically slow month of September.

‘Swiftonomics’ in full effect

The movie’s strong box office numbers add to the business phenomenon known as “Swiftonomics,” which involves Swift’s power to grow economies and industries through the spending spree of her loyal fanbase. That spending includes travel, food, merchandise and tickets, among other expenditures.

Both Swift and AMC saw a windfall from “The “Eras Tour” movie.

Shares of AMC (AMC) surged 11.5% on October 6, 2023, after the company announced “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film had grossed over $100 million in advance ticket sales.

Swift — whose net worth has inflated to $2.1 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index — first reached billionaire status during the “Eras” tour. She received 57% of the ticket revenue from “The Eras Tour” movie, of which AMC took a small distribution fee. In February 2024, Disney reportedly paid $75 million for the streaming rights to the movie.

Financial details of Swift and AMC’s partnership with “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” have not been disclosed.

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CNN’s Lisa Respers France and Ramishah Maruf contributed to this report.