Taylor Swift’s ERAS TOUR Movie Shakes Up the Theater Experience

Published: October 13, 2023

Taylor Swift’s ERAS TOUR Movie Shakes Up the Theater Experience

By Movieguide® Contributor

TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR is hitting the big screen this weekend, and as theater owners prepare for the biggest concert movie in history, they are encouraging fans to break some of cinema’s biggest taboos.

“We want you to take selfies and pretend like it’s a concert,” Marcus Theatres president Gregory Marcus told Variety, encouraging fans to use their phone throughout the movie.

This sentiment was echoed by Chris Randelman, the chief revenue officer for Flix Brewhouse, who added, “We usually have no talking or texting rules, but we’ve relaxed them. The crowd is going to want to record themselves having fun. We’re expecting some phones out. We are going to discourage people from filming the screen to not break [piracy] laws, but we want them to have fun.”

Variety reports that the concert movie “—which brings the epic, three-hour show to its widest audience yet—enters theaters…as one of the highest-grossing in history with $100 million in advance global ticket sales.”

To prepare for the expected—even encouraged—rowdiness of THE ERAS TOUR, some theaters have rearranged their showing times and even upped their cleaning staff.

“You don’t want people to get too crazy. But we’re not terribly worried,” said Phoenix Theatres owner Cory Jacobson. “People are there to have a good time. They have to maintain the decorum of any other theatrical environment.”

“If you can get people dancing around or standing, it’s good energy. We’re doing things to encourage it,” Phoenix Theatres VP Jordan Hohman added. “Before opening weekend screenings, we’re doing a dance segment with Taylor Swift songs to get people hyped.”

Some expect that the concert movie will set a new precedent in the entertainment industry.

“Even if Taylor Swift may prove to set a very high bar, it’s not hard to imagine the potential success of more concert events with superstars like Beyonce or Adele, major sporting events screened in premium formats, synergistic promotional campaigns, and numerous other specialty release ideas,” Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at BoxOffice.com, said.

However, not everyone is as enthusiastic about the Swifties who are about to storm their theaters.

“We hope it won’t get out of hand. This is new for us, too,” Marcus said. “I really hope people are not standing on seats. We have stadium seating, so there’s no reason.”

Movieguide® previously reported on how Taylor Swift’s THE ERAS TOUR will impact DUCK DYNASTY patriarch Phil Robertson’s biopic THE BLIND:

In a recent episode of the “Unashamed” podcast with DUCK DYNASTY’s Phil Robertson, he and his sons talked about how Taylor Swift is interfering with their hit movie, THE BLIND.

“I’d say get your tickets now. I was just looking you know the big Taylor Swift… I know you guys are big Taylor Swift fans y’all probably went to the concert…” their co-worker Zach jokingly told listeners.

“What does Taylor Swift have to do with any of this?” Jase Robertson interjected with a confused look.

“Well, she did the concert thing that just blew up. Well now they’re taking the concert and they’ve turned it into a movie, but her fans are so rabid that two weeks after our film, they’ve basically kicked every other film out except for this,” Zach continued.

“I mean she’ll be on every screen and every theater in America so if you want to watch THE BLIND you probably have about a two-week window, I’d get your tickets now,” he explained.