Sources revealed today that AMC's last-minute booking of "Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl" for a single-weekend theatrical run has generated a staggering $15 million across all circuits within the first 24 hours of tickets going on sale yesterday, following the film's announcement. The movie's exclusive theater engagement from October 3rd to 5th is projected to gross between $30 million and $50 million. Numerous insiders informed me that AMC experienced its sixth-highest day of presales yesterday, thanks to "Showgirl," raking in approximately $7.5 million.
Deadline has learned that, unlike the "Eras Tour" film, which was shopped around to various motion picture studios before AMC ultimately secured the rights, the Swift family directly contacted AMC's CEO, Adam Aron, in late August about "Showgirl," a project they already had in development. The Swifts undoubtedly had an extraordinary experience with the "Eras Tour" film, which grossed $180.8 million domestically and $267.1 million worldwide, yielding a net profit of $172 million, according to our sources. Once again, this distribution strategy empowers the Swifts to seize control of their box office destiny, securing the best possible deal while bypassing the major studios.
Already, outdoor digital billboards are adorned with advertisements for the album concept film in major cities across the country. Word on the street is that no trailers will be released. When it comes to marketing, nothing can top Taylor Swift directly addressing her 547 million fans across TikTok, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube. Given the last-minute nature of the film's booking, the promotional and advertising (P&A) budget will be significantly smaller than the $55 million global P&A campaign for Swift's "Eras Tour" concert film in 2023. That film was announced in late August, leading to a month-and-a-half of promotion before its $93.2 million domestic opening on October 13th—the second-best domestic debut ever for the month of October (after DC/Warner Bros.' "Joker" at $96.2 million). Industry estimates for the first day of presales for "Eras Tour" were around $37 million for the top three circuits.
Furthermore, it stands to reason that the opening weekend for "Showgirl" will not approach the magnitude of "Eras Tour," considering the two-week lead time to its release and the reduced ticket price of $12 plus tax (the first concert film was priced at $13.13 for children and seniors, but up to $20 for adults). I've heard that the Swifts also set the ticket price for "Showgirl." Additionally, while "Eras Tour" was designed to provide an opportunity for Swifties who couldn't attend her concerts, as well as to celebrate her career's accomplishments, the primary purpose of the "Showgirl" movie is to promote her 12th studio album, rather than to shatter box office records. Nevertheless, the film itself appears poised for significant success.
The 89-minute "Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl" features the exclusive world premiere of her music video for "The Fate of Ophelia," never-before-seen personal reflections from the 14-time Grammy winner on the new album's tracks, behind-the-scenes footage from the music video shoot, and brand-new lyric videos.
When "Eras Tour" hit the calendar two years ago, it forced several films, including Universal's "Exorcist: The Believer," to reschedule. That scenario is unlikely to repeat itself this time, given that the marketing campaigns for October 3rd releases such as A24's "The Smashing Machine," 20th Century Studios' re-release of "Avatar: The Way of Water," and Bleecker Street's "Bone Lake" have been in motion for some time. The R-rated "Smashing Machine," starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt and directed by Benny Safdie, is expected to debut with around $20 million. We understand that there is intense competition for premium large format screens among "Avatar 2," "Showgirl," and "Smashing Machine."
We've learned that, due to the single-weekend play for "Showgirl," the terms are quite favorable to exhibitor partners, including rivals Regal, Cinemark, and others. "Showgirl" will screen at all 540 AMC locations. "Eras Tour" reportedly allocated around 43% of its proceeds to circuits. Similar to that film, AMC has enlisted Variance Films to handle the U.S. and Canada release of "Showgirl," while Piece of Magic Entertainment will manage the international distribution. "Showgirl" will launch in 18 countries, including Mexico, the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
