Is Taylor Swift About to Become the Next ‘Barbie?’ (Opinion)
On the heels of the phenomenon known as the Barbie movie, Taylor Swift is set to become the second most powerful female in movie theaters when her The Eras Tour film hits movie theaters this October. The theater debut of concert footage from her wildly successful tour leads this moviegoer to wonder, does Taylor have the power to become the next Barbie?
Taylor Swift vs. The ‘Barbie’ Movie
There was a buildup for months before The Barbie Movie‘s premiere. The hype with promotional materials, press, clothing, and other items pushed the Margot Robbie and Ryan Gossling smash to massive box office success.
Overall, Barbie raked in $1.38 billion globally (via CNN) and continues to make money. According to media reports, Barbie will be released on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, and Vudu beginning Sept. 12, 2023.
Barbie may have been a movie about a famous child’s toy, but it became much more than that for the legions of fans who returned to the theaters to see it repeatedly. The film, which I saw with my adult daughter, taught her lessons about the complex nature of being a woman in today’s world better than I ever could (thank you, America Ferrera, and your impassioned speech).
However, as Taylor Swift prepares to release her The Eras Tour Film, young girls are exposed to a different type of powerful woman. This woman is closer to their ages, experiences life in real-time, and has stood up against adversity as her fans followed along.
This concert film, piggybacking on the success of Swift’s wildly successful live concerts, will surely draw female fans in droves to the theaters, much like Barbie did. However, will it achieve the same monetary success?
Expect to see ‘The Eras Tour’ in theaters for a long time
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert film hits theaters beginning Oct. 13, 2023. Taylor’s deal with AMC Theaters may allow the concert film to run up to 26 weeks so that it could have significant staying power over the next six months.
The filmed concert is already breaking box office records, with ticket presales in the millions. Box office predictors believe The Eras Tour concert film could top $100 million in its opening weekend alone.
Swifties have already proven just how important Taylor is to them personally. Tickets for The Eras Tour sold out in minutes, causing Ticketmaster sites to crash.
Subsequently, 2.4 million tickets for Taylor’s series of converts were sold, breaking the record for the highest single-day ticket sales ever by an artist. The presale crashed the company’s website, stranded customers in line for “presale” tickets for hours, and led to fans having to pay resale prices for tickets upwards of five times face value.
The Eras Tour film will likely bring Swifties to the theater in a fashion similar to how they behaved during her tour. Fans who didn’t get to see Taylor live will try and recreate that experience in theaters by dressing like her and wearing some of her favorite accessories.
Will ‘The Eras Tour’ film live up to the hype?
Taylor Swift’s music is in regular rotation in my home. If a song comes on the radio or streaming, I never turn it off.
However, after seeing some of the most famous artists of the last decade or so make concert films, I don’t know if The Eras Tour film will live up to the hype. With my daughter in tow in the past 15 years, I have seen Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never, The Jonas Brothers 3D Concert Experience, Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds Concert Experience, and One Direction: This Is Us.
While all of these movies tried to transport moviegoers into a real-life concert experience, ultimately, we were all still sitting in the theater watching images on screen. A few squeals here and there, some singing along, and clapping and cheering occurred, but a full-concert experience it was not.
However, Taylor Swift fans are passionate about her music, aesthetic, and everything else. So maybe there is a chance this might be the live-to-tape concert experience they hope for.
And for those fans who didn’t get the opportunity to see Swift live, they can experience the excitement for themselves. There is no doubt this partnership will continue to break records for the superstar singer and songwriter in the coming months and, quite possibly, put Taylor Swift and Barbie head to head when it comes to making big money.
According to a press release, The Eras Tour concert film will be available to watch in IMAX, and every United States AMC theatre location will run at least four showtimes daily on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
