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POP sensation Taylor Swift is kicking off 2024 with another significant achievement. Following the release of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in US theatres on Oct 13, the film has now become the highest-grossing concert and documentary film in box office history, grossing US$261.6 million (RM1.22 billion) globally.
This achievement was made one week following the film’s Dec 31 debut in China, where it amassed US$8.7 million (RM40 million) in revenue. The Eras Tour has outpaced the previous record-holder, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which grossed US$261.2 million (RM1.21 billion) globally after its release in 2009.
A substantial portion of the overall earnings are attributed to the remarkable success of its opening weekend.
In October, The Eras Tour generated US$92.8 million (RM431.5 million) in North America and US$30.7 million (RM142.7 million) internationally, resulting in a combined total of US$123.5 million (RM574.2 million).
This achievement marked the largest opening for a concert film in history, surpassing the record set by Justin Bieber: Never Say Never in 2011, which only earned US$73 million (RM339.5 million) during the same initial period.
In terms of domestic box office performance, it secured the second-largest October debut, following 2019’s Joker and ranked as the seventh-highest opening weekend of 2023.
Swift’s recent achievement follows a unique release strategy for The Eras Tour.
Rather than choosing a traditional major studio distribution, she collaborated with AMC Theatres, the world’s largest cinema chain.
This unconventional approach enabled Swift, in her role as a producer, to receive approximately 57% of ticket sales. The theatres retained the rest of the revenue, with AMC taking a modest distribution fee.
The film was not exclusively screened at AMC theatres – instead, it played in 3,855 theatres across the US and Canada and 4,527 venues internationally.
Swift then made The Eras Tour available for home streaming on Dec 13 for those who were unable to view the film in theatres.
The streaming version featured an extended cut, incorporating additional songs like Wildest Dreams, The Archer and Long Live, which were not part of the original 165-minutes running time.