Taylor Swift Brings Her $1B Tour to the Big Screen

Seven big questions re: the Taylor Swift movie:
1) How much revenue has the Taylor Swift tour film generated so far?
2) How does this opening compare to other recent blockbusters?
3) What are the economics?
4) How much revenue did Taylor Swift generate from her Eras tour?
5) What share of American adults are Taylor Swift fans?
6) How many movie screens is it playing on?
7) How did this movie deal come together?

Big question #1: How much revenue has the Taylor Swift tour film generated so far?

Quick answer: $123.5M

Share of revenue for “The Eras Movie” according to the Hollywood Reporter:
1) North America – $92.8M (75%)
2) International – $30.7M (25%)
3) Total – $123.5M

Big question #2: How does this opening compare to other recent blockbusters?

Quick answer: “The Eras Tour” posted the 6th largest weekend for 2023.  Considering the film cost ≈ 5% of a normal blockbuster to produce makes this more amazing.

Wow: The film generated $30M in pre-sales on the first day, which is #1 all-time!

Big question #3: What are the economics?

Quick math for Taylor Swift movie economics: 
1) Tickets cost $19.89 for adults and $13.13 for kids
2) 4.8M tickets sold
3) $19.33 average ticket price
4) Taylor Swift keeps 57% of revenue vs. 43% for theater owners
5) Opening weekend generated $70M in revenue for Taylor Swift
6) $16M in production costs
7) $54M in post-production revenue after opening weekend

Big question #4: How much revenue did Taylor Swift generate from her Eras tour?

Quick math for Taylor Swift tour economics:
1) 52 shows in North America (56 European shows in 2024)
2) 72K per show
3) 3.7M attendees total
4) $253.60 per ticket (does not include resale)
5) $18M per night from tickets and $2M from merchandise
6) Taylor Swift keeps 35% from tickets and 70% from merchandise
7) $1B in total revenue for the tour ($20M per night)
8) Taylor Swift made $405M for the tour ($8M per night)

Quote from  Jarred Arfa – EVP and Head of Global Music @ Independent Artists Group:

“What we’re seeing on this particular Taylor tour is almost like a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.  It’s pretty astonishing.”

Wow #1: Her tour generated an estimated $5B in consumer spending (hotels, glitter, etc.).

Quote from Dan Fleetwood – President of Research and Insights @QuestionPro:“If Taylor Swift were an economy, she’d be bigger than 50 countries.”

Wow #2: Taylor Swift generated more economic activity for her Glendale, AZ concert than the Super Bowl in February.  She generated 2.5 Super Bowls’ worth of economic activity every weekend for 20 weeks.

Big question #5: What share of American adults are Taylor Swift fans?

Key details for Taylor Swift’s audience (U.S. adults only) according to Morning Consult:
1) 53% are fans (138M)
2) 16% are avid fans (42M)
3) 7% are self-described “Swifties” (18M)

Bottom line: At best, 1 out of every 5 “Swifties” were able to see her live in concert, leaving a tremendous amount of demand for “The Eras Movie.”

Big question #6: How many movie screens is it playing on?

Quick answer: 8,181 (3,855 in North America and 4,326 overseas)

Big question #7: How did this movie deal come together?

Quick answer: Taylor Swift cut out Hollywood and did a deal directly with AMC theaters.

Quote from Matthew Belloni – Founding Partner @ Puck:“Plus, the Swifts didn’t actually need a Hollywood studio. What do modern movie studios do, anyway? They produce the product (often with partners), but since the Swifts had hired director Sam Wrench and paid for this movie themselves (it actually cost between $10 million and $20 million, I’m told, and was shot during her recent L.A. stop), they didn’t need production help.”

Key details for terms around distribution deal for “The Eras Movie”:
1) Each theater agrees to show for 4-26 weeks.
2) Taylor Swift can offer on streaming (Netflix, etc.) at 13 weeks.

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