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Swift doesn’t do anything by halves, so along with her 12-track album, she’s also releasing a movie event, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl. It’s projected to earn the pop messiah her second consecutive No. 1 box office debut following Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in 2023, according to Variety.
This isn’t your average movie. It’ll be an 89-minute screening of the new songs, as well as the music video for its lead single The Fate of Ophelia, behind-the-scenes footage from that video shoot, lyric videos and insight into each track. Many fans have compared it to the “secret sessions” (intimate fan gatherings) Swift held for the release of 1989 and Lover, though the upcoming session will span the globe.
There will be a movie event, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, to tie in with the album.Credit: Instagram
Most Australian cinemas will be screening the film across Saturday, Sunday and Monday, with many beginning the first session as early as 5am. At Village Cinemas, they’re even hosting 24-hour screenings across the weekend, as well as friendship bracelet stations and Taylor trivia.
There are currently over 1,600 sessions on sale at Hoyts cinemas nationwide, some of which have already sold out. According to a Hoyts spokesperson, it’s a strong contender to claim the No 1 spot this weekend based on current presales, beating the likes of The Smashing Machine and One Battle After Another.
The film is tracking a debut of US$35 million to US$40 million in the US over the weekend. This is massive considering it was only announced a few weeks ago, and isn’t even a traditional feature film.
“Taylor Swift might top the box office and that will ‘ruin the friendship’ with The Rock Dwayne Johnson, but it’s worth it – it’s what people want, they can choose what to see and the audiences for The Rock’s film and Leonardo’s One Battle are quite different,” says Benjamin Zeccola, chief executive of Palace Cinemas, which is hosting over 100 Release Party screenings over three days.
Kristian Connelly, Cinema Nova’s chief executive, says the film makes him recall when Beyoncé released her first concert film without much warning or fanfare, only for it to quickly shoot to No 1 on the chart.
“At the time, I wondered to myself whether such a thing could happen for a movie, assuming the only people who could do such a thing might be a filmmaker like Spielberg or his acolyte JJ Abrams, or possibly a massive franchise like Marvel,” he says. “Reflecting on those thoughts now, it makes sense that a recording artist promoting an album is the best application of an effective ‘immediate release’ – their fan-base is locked in and, due to the nature of the documentary content, it’s low risk for high reward.
“The question now becomes whether any other singer could pull such a coup off. Time will tell.”
