AMC CLASSIC Bloomington 12 has sold over half its tickets for opening day of Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" concert film after the music star announced the movie's release on Aug. 31. Sales for the film, which opens Oct. 13, have already broken multiple sales records.
On Nov. 1, 2022, Taylor Swift announced her second stadium tour, The Eras Tour. The tour features songs spaning over her entire music career. The first leg of the tour included 53 shows in 20 cities over the span of five months. Swift played songs from nearly all of her albums as well as two surprise songs that were not included on the setlist during each show.
Swift announced the second leg of the U.S. portion of the tour in August. This portion of the tour will include three shows at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in November 2024, as well as shows in New Orleans and Miami. Many fans were waitlisted for the show due to the large number of people trying to get a presale code for the limited show dates. To earn presale code, fans signed up with their Ticketmaster accounts for the chance to get an email allowing them to buy tickets before the general sale.
Ticket prices have skyrocketed due to people reselling tickets at higher prices to make a profit. Some tickets in the upper levels of Lucas Oil Stadium are going for upwards of $2,000 according to ticket sites like Stubhub.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita warned Indiana fans in a WISHTV article to be smart when purchasing secondhand tickets to the Indianapolis shows. Rokita said fans should look up the seller’s name, username, email address and phone number before paying for a ticket to avoid being scammed.
“With a credit card, if a problem arises, you have the potential for greater protection and the ability to dispute charges, unlike other payment methods,” Rokita said in the article.
Swift’s performances have significantly affected several of the economies in the cities that host her performances. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker credited her with reviving the state’s tourism industry after she performed there for three nights in a row. The Federal Reserve also credited Taylor Swift with boosting hotel revenues.
Dagne Faulk, research director at the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, said in a WISHTV article Taylor Swift’s three shows in Indiana next year could bring up to an estimated nine figures in revenue to central Indiana.
“There’s likely to be a massive inflow of people into downtown Indianapolis to see the concert so that should have an effect on hotel stays, the restaurants, all the local businesses,” Faulk said in the article. “It’s probably going to be in the upper 10s of millions of dollars.”
The only theater showing the film in Bloomington is AMC CLASSIC Bloomington 12. The closest theater that still has showings available is 37 miles away in Columbus, Indiana at AMC CLASSIC Columbus 12.
Tickets for the film went on sale Aug. 31. This was the highest single-day advance ticket sales revenue day in AMC’s history, with $26 million in ticket revenue sold Aug. 31, according to an AMC news release. The ticket sales for Swift’s film broke the ticket sales record for a single title in one day at AMC and the 24-hour ticket sales revenue record at AMC, according to the news release. Both records were previously held by the 2021 film “Spider-Man: No Way Home.”
The film’s ticket prices are listed as $19.89 plus tax for adult tickets and $13.13 plus tax for children’s and senior tickets. Swift has an album called “1989” and her favorite number is 13, a fun detail that fans may have missed while rushing to buy their tickets. The average adult movie ticket at AMC costs $13 with fees.
Fans can also get a free The Eras Tour mini poster when they buy a ticket while supplies last. AMC will also sell official popcorn tubs and collectible cups with The Eras Tour design on them.
Ryan Noonan, Vice President of Corporate Communications at AMC Theatres said in an email to the Indiana Daily Student that, at this time, the only information AMC can share about the film is in the news releases that have already been issued by the company.
According to the news release, AMC had to upgrade its website and ticketing engines to handle the large influx of ticket-buying traffic.
The film will also be available in IMAX and Dolby Cinema at some AMCs across the country. IMAX has larger than normal screen with 3D capabilities and Dolby Cinema has better contrast and audio quality compared to regular theaters.
IU freshman Lily Kortepeter said she really liked the experience of The Eras Tour when she saw Swift perform live in Cincinnati and thinks the movie is another way to experience Swift’s performance without having to pay as much money. Ticket prices for Swift’s live performances ranged from $49 to $899 before fees, according to Teen Vogue. Kortepeter said she wanted to see Swift perform some of her favorite songs in the movie, which she didn’t see live.
“I wanted to experience it with people who I didn’t get to experience The Eras Tour with,” Kortepeter said. “My show was before [Swift performed] ‘Long Live,’ so I really want to see that part in the movie.”
Kortepeter said she thinks there will be a big turnout for the movie because fans will dress up and trade friendship bracelets in the lobbies, a tradition amongst many of Swift’s fans. She said she got tickets for the movie in Indianapolis instead of Bloomington because she couldn’t find the tickets on the website and didn’t want it to sell out.
“We saw ourselves how big The Eras Tour got, but now this is more affordable and a lot easier to go to, so I think it’s a genius business move,” Kortepeter said.
IU senior Cami Voiles said she saw Swift perform in Nashville, Cincinnati and Pittsburg for The Eras Tour but she still wants to see the movie.
“I want to see what parts she wanted recorded, obviously she sang certain surprise songs,” Voiles said. “I'm excited to see what she wanted us to get out of The Eras Tour and what she wants people who didn’t go to see.”
Voiles said she plans to dress up for the film and trade friendship bracelets with people in the theater.
“I think it will be a lot of fun for all the people who were like ‘man the first leg of the US tour is over, and I want that back,’” Voiles said. “It was such an experience for me, so I want to do it again, it's so different from any other concert.”
Many states have also gone out of their way to welcome the artist when she comes to perform. Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval declared June 30 “Taylor Swift Day” in Cincinnati in honor of her performing there on June 30 and July 1. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey announced at a news conference he would rename Minneapolis to ‘Swiftie-apolis’ in honor of Swift stopping there on the tour.
“With pride plus Taylor Swift, we are expecting more than half a million people… it’s better than our wildest dreams,” Frey said at the news conference. “Taylor is one of the most popular artists, and we’re expecting hundreds of thousands to visit our downtown and experience our city as a result.”
