Swift's fans swap the stage for the silver screen

The overwhelming success of the premiere of the documentary about her concert reveals an innovative format for cinemas, Xu Fan reports.

When Beijing native Jin Yu arrived for a special screening of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour — the highest-grossing concert film of all time — she was surprised to see many audience members were dressed up, waving glow sticks, swaying and loudly singing along with the performer.

"It felt like I was attending a solo concert by Swift for almost three hours, but it only cost 100 yuan ($14). In addition, you could take out your smartphone to take photos or videos. That's usually forbidden when watching a movie in a theater," she says.

Under the helm of Emmy award-winning director Sam Wrench, the movie follows the 34-year-old pop icon and her dancers onstage, as Swift performs 40 songs from 10 albums during her 2023-24 The Eras Tour.

The film has grossed over $261 million at box offices worldwide, including more than 78 million yuan on the Chinese mainland, according to statistics from trackers Box Office Mojo and Beacon. The 169-minute-long movie has also become the highest-grossing imported documentary of all time on the Chinese mainland.

With The Eras Tour breaking the Guinness World Record for the highest-grossing music tour in history, Alibaba Pictures — which is known for importing such acclaimed foreign movies as Green Book, Bohemian Rhapsody, Capernaum and Departures — recognized the film's prospects, facilitated its entry into the Chinese market, and helped to promote.

Since its release in domestic theaters on New Year's Eve, the movie has received an impressive score of 9.3 points out of 10 on Douban, one of China's most popular review sites, due to its spectacular visual effects and Swift's superstardom.

Song Zhe, a 29-year-old short-video director from Henan province, is one of the Chinese fans who was so captivated by the documentary's fresh and innovative format that he purchased two tickets for consecutive screenings.

"I have rarely experienced such an exciting and immersive movie-watching experience before," says Song, who works in Beijing.

"When it came to some of the hottest Swift songs, the audience spontaneously stood in the empty space below the big screen, and started jumping and singing along. You couldn't even hear Swift's voice — only the cheers and shouts of the fans," he recalls.