"Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" movie debuted Wednesday night in Los Angeles to rave reviews before it hits more theaters on Thursday for early access showings and Friday for its wider release.
The live concert experience, which some have described as the box office event of the fall, comes at a critical time for theater chains — and is unlike anything exhibitors have seen before.
"We've seen demand like this, but we've seen it for big blockbuster movies," IMAX (IMAX) CEO Richard Gelfond told Yahoo Finance Live on Thursday. "I don't think there's ever been a concert film like this ever before."
The film will debut on at least 625 IMAX screens in 45 markets around the world, including 377 domestic screens. It will also screen at all AMC (AMC) and Cinemark (CNK) theaters in the US.
IMAX, which is accounting for a double-digit percentage of opening weekend presales, said more than 350 shows are already sold out with well over $100 million in advance ticket sales.
"The question is, 'Will we ever see it again?'" Gelfond questioned. "I think Taylor is such a unicorn and a special talent. This concert had so much publicity behind it. So many people couldn't see it [so] there was pent-up demand. It's definitely a milestone in the history of cinema in terms of excitement around a concert movie."
'Very fortunate' timing
The release of the film comes at a critical time for theaters as the nearly five-month-long writers strike caused multiple disruptions to the release schedule. Most notably, Warner Bros.' (WBD) "Dune" sequel was delayed to March 2024 after it was originally scheduled for November 2023.
Other studios have also reshuffled their respective programming with Hollywood actors still on the picket lines. The union, SAG-AFTRA, accused the the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) of "bullying tactics" after talks between the two sides broke down over viewership bonuses and regulations surrounding AI.
The AMPTP bargains on behalf of the major studios including Warner Bros. (WBD), Disney (DIS), Netflix (NFLX), Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), NBCUniversal (CMCSA), Paramount (PARA), and Sony (SONY).
"I think the the timing is very fortunate," Gelfond said, citing the strikes.
He explained the reshuffling of the release slate provided "much more flexibility" for theaters to show the concert film. At the same time, though, even the film itself led to big changes with "The Exorcist: Believer" pushed up a week after it was revealed the "Eras Tour" movie would debut on the horror sequel's original date — Oct. 13.
"This movie was so powerful that it was able to change the theatrical release schedule, which, again, is unprecedented in the industry," Gelfond said. "If you said a concert movie was going to make studios move their movies, you wouldn't have believed that."
And it's not just Taylor Swift releasing a concert film. A new film about Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour will debut in theaters this December — a sign that more concert films could be heading to the big screen.
"There are very few artists that have the drawing power of Taylor Swift or Beyoncé," Gelfond said. "For the right talent, this is a seminal event. But I don't think that this is a threat to the regular moviegoing experience because there are very few people who could pull these kinds of numbers."
The executive added that most artists would have to spend a decent amount of cash to market themselves. "Taylor shows up at an NFL game or something goes on social media and they come — but not everyone has that drawing power."
Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @allie_canal, LinkedIn, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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