Taylor Swift Barbie Beyonce
TAS Rights Management; Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bos./Courtesy of the Everett Collection; Kevin Mazur/WireImage
When Taylor Swift and Beyoncé showed up with popcorn at the AMC Theater in Los Angeles on Wednesday night for the premiere of Swift’s concert film, Taylor Swift: Eras Tour, the moment was a team of pop culture superheroines similar to the Avengers. In the midst of a long industry strike that has caused studios to delay some of their 2023 releases, two pop stars have flown in to boost box office revenue. Eras Tour in theaters now, and Beyoncé’s concert film, Renaissance, Beyoncé filmwill open December 1st.
The majority of moviegoers the singers are expected to attract to theaters will be women and girls, building on an audience that has already helped produce the year’s biggest film. Barbie. PostTrak’s combined exit poll data from Thursday night screenings of Swift’s film, which is expected to earn more than $150 million worldwide this weekend, shows the audience, now 76 percent female, according to a source with access to surveys. While Warner Bros. Barbiewhich earned $1.43 billion worldwide and ultimately brought a lot of men and boys to the theater, 69 percent of the film’s opening weekend box office in July came from female ticket buyers.
“I find it interesting and exciting that two of the biggest theatrical events of the year were produced by and for women,” says David Herrin, founder of film tracking company The Quorum. “Is this some kind of payback for 15 years of superhero movies made for men? May be.”
Before BarbieThe theater business’ post-pandemic recovery was largely driven by men ages 18 to 35 watching comic book and action films. And most of the films Hollywood has been focusing on since Covid are from Paramount Top Shot: Maverick to Disney Avatar: The Way of Water at Universal’s Oppenheimergreatly skewed.
But films that manage to attract passionate female fans pay off, often contrary to industry expectations, he says. The Hunger Games And Crazy Rich Asians producer Nina Jacobson, whose new film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songs and SnakesThe prequel to the nearly $3 billion-grossing dystopian series that debuted in 2012 will hit Lionsgate theaters on November 17.
“People are always surprised when something that starts with a woman’s initiative becomes successful,” Jacobson says. “Part of the reason is that our industry uses computer technology to predict performance and is always looking back rather than forward. There are no scores for many of these films.”
Swift is certainly in a category of her own. AMC, the theater chain releasing a film of her concert, is relying heavily on the singer’s 523 million social media followers and awareness of the tour itself to spread the word. According to a Morning Consult survey conducted in March, only one in four people who described themselves as avid Swift fans were able to get tickets to the Eras Tour, suggesting many Swifties will want to see the film version, which costs $19.89 for adults and $13 . 13 for children. “There will definitely be pent-up demand to see it in any capacity,” says Morning Consult brand analyst Ellyn Briggs. “Watching a film will become more accessible logistically and financially.”
It is also likely that there will be repeat moviegoers and group moviegoing, both characteristics of young female audiences. “AND Barbie The film and the Eras Tour took an event-driven approach,” says Briggs. “This was not just an evening event. It was like, let’s come up with cute outfits, let’s make friendship bracelets, let’s go together.”
In addition to The Hunger Games prequel, a female comic book movie will also be released in theaters next month, Miracles, directed by Nia DaCosta, and starring three female leads (Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris and Iman Vellani). Some upcoming films with female fans are aiming to take away Swift’s audience—Paramount recently moved its audience. Crappy girl musical from streaming to theatrical release, and they placed a trailer for the film, due out in January, ahead of Swift’s film.
“It’s great to have something like a giant cultural event happen a month before a movie opens,” Jacobson says. “Having a big theater magnet is good for everyone.”
In the post-pandemic era, studios have produced several more theatrical hits for female audiences. Disney’s live-action reimagining this summer Mermaid earned nearly $300 million domestically while Paramount’s 2022 sleeper Lost CityThe Sandra Bullock-Channing Tatum romantic comedy has grossed more than $190 million worldwide.
These female-led theatrical events are notable in part because they mark a reversal of a decade-long trend in which romantic comedies and young adult films, genres that have traditionally attracted young female moviegoers, have migrated to streaming. Early prominent figures such as Kissing booth And To all the boys I’ve loved before have become Netflix hits and have been featured in quarterly earnings reports and recent publications Love at first sighHe was among the top ten according to the streamer.
If there is an increase in the number of studios seeking scripts for theatrical films aimed at young women, it has not yet manifested itself in development. “I wish that was the answer,” says a literary rep when asked if there are more open assignments for YA demo projects now that writers are back at work.
—Mia Galuppo contributed reporting.