Taylor Swift’s Era Tour at Mile High’s Empower Field on July 14, 2023 in Denver, Colorado has been a massive success. The tour, which began in March of this year, has been a global hit, attracting fans from all over. The countdown to the release of the movie “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” has begun, with the film set to be independently released on October 13 by AMC, the largest theater chain in North America. The movie has already broken various pre-sale records, bringing hope to the Hollywood film industry which has been struggling due to the ongoing “100-day strike”.
On the first day of pre-sale, fans snapped up $26 million worth of movie tickets within a few hours, even though they were priced at a high $19.89 each, which is said to be a nod to Swift’s album “1989”. This broke AMC’s 2021 pre-sale box office record of $16.9 million for “Spider-Man: No Home” and caused the stock price of AMC to soar nearly 9%. The popularity of the movie even caused the AMC online ticket booking system to crash due to overwhelming demand.
Since the start of her tour, Swift has been boosting local consumption in every major North American city she has visited. Hotel prices have more than tripled every weekend of her performances, and the occupancy rate of some hotels has reached close to 100%. The Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book even mentioned the boost in hotel revenue due to Swift’s performances.
Swift’s tour is expected to drive $4.6 billion in direct consumption in the United States, according to the Common Sense Institute. Many countries’ leaders have even invited Swift to perform in their countries, showing the global impact of her tour.
The movie “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is 165 minutes long and accurately captures the grandeur of her concert held at the Inglewood Stadium in California in August of this year. What sets this movie apart is that it was independently produced by Swift’s production company and released directly by AMC, bypassing the ongoing strikes in the Hollywood industry. This has been a boon for movie theaters, which have been struggling due to the lack of new releases.
The theater found a new revenue stream with the agreement that 43% of the box office revenue of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” belongs to the theater chain, with the remaining 57% being shared by Swift and AMC’s distribution departments. This agreement has been seen as a positive move for the theaters, but analysts and studio executives still believe that the movie may not fully compensate for the economic losses caused by the strikes.
Swift’s influence has also led to mainstream media hiring reporters specifically to cover her. Gannett, the largest newspaper publisher in the United States, has posted job openings for reporters who will cover Swift. The requirements include being able to capture the appeal of Swift’s ongoing tour and upcoming album, providing in-depth analysis of her music and career. The job pays well and requires international travel.
Economists have dubbed the phenomenon surrounding Swift’s tour as “Swiftonomics”, noting that her concerts have become a major representation of post-epidemic consumer behavior. Fans have been willing to spend large amounts of money on concert tickets and related expenses, bringing in significant revenue wherever Swift performs. Forbes estimates that she has earned between $500 million and $1.5 billion from the tour.
It is clear that Taylor Swift’s Era Tour has had a profound impact on the entertainment industry, from breaking records and boosting local economies to changing the way fans consume music and media. With the release of the movie, her influence is set to continue to grow.