Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Movie is Officially the Highest Grossing Concert Film Ever

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour movie is finally in theaters and the box office numbers are leaving no doubt that the concert film is the best thing at the party. Not only is the film at the top of the box office and is closing in on the record for best October weekend of all time — a record currently held by the Joker — but the movie is officially the highest grossing concert film of all time, with its opening weekend take of almost $97 million eclipsing 2011's Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, which brought in just $73 million over the course of its entire theatrical run.

The Eras Tour movie smashing that record isn't exactly a surprise, however. The film had already crossed the $100 million mark in ticket presales well ahead of its release so it was pretty evident that the film would beat out Bieber. It just happened to do so during opening weekend, which means that the overall box office haul can only go up from here. While prior to the movie's release there had been some speculation that The Eras Tour movie might be front-loaded — meaning that the bulk of viewers seeing the film had already bought tickets and, thus, real-time walk-up sales might be lower given that concert films tend to appeal to fans of the artists making it a niche audience — The Eras Tour is somewhat unique. On social media, fans have been talking about going to repeat viewings just as many did with the actual concert itself and, schedule-wise, the film will still be in theaters on October 27th — the date Swift's re-recording of her fifth album, 1989, debuts. For some fans, attending the movie is how they plan to celebrate the album's release.

"We are grateful to Taylor Swift for allowing us to make [the] concert film accessible to millions of fans in movie theatres around the world," AMC Theatres' Executive Vice President of Worldwide Programming and Chief Content Officer Elizabeth Frank said in a press release.

"Her spectacular performance delighted fans, who dressed up and danced through the film," Frank continued. "With tremendous recommendations and fans buying tickets to see this concert film several times, we anticipate [the] concert film playing to big audiences for weeks to come."

Taylor Swift Made a Surprise Appearance on SNL

On Saturday night, fans were treated to a surprise by Swift when the performer made a surprise appearance on the Season 49 premiere of Saturday Night Live. Swift appeared briefly to introduce musical guest Ice Spice's second performance of the evening. Swift showing up to support Ice Spice is just the latest "team up" of sorts for the artists as Ice Spice appears on a version of Swift's song, "Karma", and appears in the song's official music video as well.

Of course, Swift's appearance on SNL wasn't the only Taylor Swift-related moment in the episode. The evening also featured a skit offering a humorous take on the NFL's coverage of Swift attending Travis Kelce's football games — with that skit featuring a surprise cameo by the Kansas City Chiefs tight end himself.

What Is Taylor Swift's Movie About?

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour will be a filmed version of Swift's landmark Eras Tour, which completed its first U.S. leg in August. Filmed across three nights of shows in Los Angeles' Sofi Stadium, the film will showcase Swift's performance of songs from all ten of her albums — Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, reputation, Lover, folklore, evermore, and Midnights. In celebration of the movie's release, AMC upgraded its ticket-booking capacity by five times to account for fan demand. It also priced standard adult tickets at $19.89 — a reference to the year Swift was born, as well as her fifth album 1989 — with children's and senior tickets at $13.13, which is a reference to Swift's lucky number.

"The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I'm overjoyed to tell you that it'll be coming to the big screen soon," Swift wrote when announcing the film on social media. "Starting Oct 13th you'll be able to experience the concert film in theaters in North America! ...Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged 1, 2, 3 LGB!!!! (iykyk)"

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour is in theaters now.