Today's Edition
Abu Dhabi (Aletihad)
Taylor Swift fans in the UAE and other Hollywood fans too can catch up on the rage of The Eras Tour with all eyes on the box office windows.
The concert film sold $123.5 million (Dh453.25m) worth of tickets around the world over the weekend since its opening on October 13. With Hollywood releases drying up due to the months-long ongoing strike, it is the most awaited event and tickets are expected to go up for sale ahead of its November 3 scheduled date in the UAE. Vox Cinemas and the Roxy set of theatres have put up a “Coming Soon” sign on their properties.
Thanks to the hysteria surrounding the singer’s record-setting world tour, a filmed version of her concert is being tipped as one of the year’s biggest movies.
Distributor AMC Theatres said the box office numbers for the first three days was slightly lesser than their estimate of $126 to 130m. Yet, “The Eras Tour” still holds the record for the highest-grossing concert film in history. The previous record-holder, Justin Bieber’s 2011 film “Never Say Never”, collected $99 million worldwide over its entire run.
Roughly $92.8 million of the worldwide total came from the United States and Canada, AMC said. Now, the UAE is one of the international markets that will open doors to the mixed experience of a concert and movie.
Taylor Swift fans in the US were seen sporting friendship bracelets and glittery cowboy boots packed to attend the screenings over the weekend. Theatres were selling specially licensed popcorn tubs and other Swift-related merchandise.
Usual cinema etiquette has been thrown out the window, with multiplexes such as AMC encouraging customers to dance, sing and even take selfies throughout screenings.
