Taylor Swift has been consistently making waves in the music industry with her Eras Tour. But the release of the tour film marked a new chapter in her successful career. The film has become a cultural phenomenon in the past months, drawing millions of fans in theatres. And it recently added a new gem to the glittering tiara of success this singer wears. The movie became the highest-grossing concert and documentary film of all time, dethroning Michael Jackson’s iconic This Is It from its 14-year reign.
While this is a significant achievement for the pop icon, it did not sit well with Jackson fans, who have been wondering if this was calculated rightly or not.
Did Taylor Swift surpass Michael Jackson’s record?
The Eras Tour concert film raked in a staggering $261.6 million globally, surpassing This Is It‘s record of $261.2 million. However, this victory has left fans divided considering the difference in run time of both films and genres. Several people pointed out that the Michael Jackson film is a documentary, not a concert film which was released posthumously. His film earned this number in five weeks only, while the Taylor Swift film has been in theatres for over 13 weeks.
Within its initial two weeks, the 2009 film garnered an impressive $200 million from 25,000 theaters worldwide. As for Swift’s movie, it bagged $123.5 million during its opening, including $92.8 million in North America. In addition, This Is It had an average ticket price of $7.50 whereas Eras Tour film ticket cost $10.5. So one cannot compare both films because Jackson’s film had a shorter run, less pricing, and it was more of a tribute to the memory of this musician, per his fans.
Eras Tour dominated the concert ticket sale charts in 2023
It is by far no secret Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour has made astounding achievements in 2023. From crashing the Ticketmaster website to becoming the highest-earning tour, it achieved a groundbreaking feat. Pollstar year-end charts for 2023 named it as the first tour to cross the billion-dollar mark both worldwide and in North America. With her enchanting voice, Taylor Swift raked up USD 1.04 billion in revenue, with 4.35 million tickets sold throughout 60 tour dates.
This information covers the period from Nov. 17, 2022, to Nov. 15, 2023, based on box office reports, venue capacity estimates, and historical Pollstar venue ticket sales. Apart from this, the tour also earned approximately $200 million from merchandise sales, like bracelets. Through this record, the Grammy winner has solidified her image as a legendary singer. But the parade does not end here because she will resume her international leg on February 7.
