In late August, pop superstar Taylor Swift made headlines with her announcement that her acclaimed Eras concert tour would be getting a brief theatrical run. The response was (ahem) swift, with several titles, namely The Exorcist: Believer, changing release dates because they knew Taylor would likely crush them at the box office. And indeed, presales for the event broke records set by Spider-Man: No Way Home and Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

And this last week, fellow pop superstar and pop culture icon Beyoncé announced that her recent Renaissance tour will also be seeing a theatrical release, and opening night tickets have already seen high presales as well. With an industry in flux at the tail end of a dual strike, these concert films seem to signify a way for theaters to stay afloat in the impending drought for new releases, but one has to wonder – are concert films going to become a regular thing going forward?

An Industry in Flux
WGA

As previously mentioned, Hollywood itself is in flux right now. The almost five-month-long writer’s strike finally came to an end recently, and impending talks between the actors guild and the AMPTP are set to resume this week. The mass stoppage of work led to delays for several of fall’s hotly-anticipated titles, most notably Dune: Part Two, and said delays mean the theatrical market is going to look significantly drier than usual this season.

And for an industry that’s only just been starting to recover from the impact of a worldwide global pandemic, this spells trouble for movie theaters. Fewer movies coming out means fewer ticket sales, and considering that several notable theater chains only narrowly avoided bankruptcy in the aftermath of COVID, this is a worrying setback. And this is to say nothing of the smaller, independently owned theaters that haven’t fully recovered yet.

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So a theatrical run for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour will be a likely stimulant for a dry fall; considering how big and vocally devoted Swift’s fanbase is, it’s almost a guarantee that they’ll be going in droves to see their idol performing on the big screen. In addition, Beyoncé’s tour release date of December 1 gives it a significant window to dominate the box office, as the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas have historically been slow for the box office, and December’s biggest releases, Wonka and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom don’t open until at least two weeks later.

All these factors point to Taylor Swift and Beyoncé as the newest candidates to fill the throne vacated by Tom Cruise in 2022 and “Barbieheimer” from this last summer – the savior of the theatrical experience. But the question is, will concert films be a fad or a lasting trend?

Are Concert Films In? Maybe
A24

It’s hard to say right now, but the elements that could make it a trend are arguably in place. After all, theatrical runs for pre-recorded concerts are nowhere near as new as most people think. In the last fifteen years alone, major theater chains like AMC and Harkins have hosted one-night-only screenings of concerts from artists such as Billie Eilish and BTS and several week-long runs for the likes of Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, and Katy Perry.

Not to mention, concert films have had a small but devoted following for decades now. Consider the recent remaster and re-release of the classic Talking Heads film Stop Making Sense; it’s outright beloved by fans of the band and film critics alike. Watching it, it’s easy to understand why; from personal experience, seeing it in IMAX, with impeccable sound and image quality, gave a feeling of immersion akin to actually seeing the band live on stage. There’s an undeniable appeal to having that kind of experience in a theater.

In a tumultuous era for the concert industry, it seems like an increasingly appealing one. Consider the heavy scrutiny Ticketmaster has gotten in the last few years; their almost complete monopoly over the market means ticket prices regularly reach absurdly high levels, and the absence of almost any other suppliers means anyone looking to purchase tickets elsewhere is out of luck. Perhaps fittingly, no Ticketmaster scandal has gotten as much public outcry as their disastrous handling of ticket presales for Taylor Swift’s Eras concert tour.

The appeal for a pre-recorded night of the tour playing on the big screen is thus easy to see, as it gives the Swifties, who felt cheated out of tickets, another chance to watch their idol perform. And since prices for concert tickets keep getting more and more expensive with seemingly every passing week, more and more people might eventually conclude that going to a live event is no longer worth it when it’s cheaper and easier to just watch it in a movie theater. Only time will tell, but there’s undeniably a recipe in place for concert films to become a trend going forward.

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Fall Is the Season of Pop Stars
Taylor Swift Productions

It’s already clear that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is going to be a huge box office hit and one that the movie theater industry desperately needs in a fall unusually dry for new releases. And it’s easy to assume that Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour will also be met with success. The big question going forward now is, considering concert films have become a surprising new trend for the tail end of 2023 and a needed stimulant for theaters, will it last going forward?

The answer? It’s too soon to say, but it’s not out of the question that it could.