Christopher Nolan has praised Taylor Swift for her impact on the global box office following the release of her "Eras Tour" film, which quickly became the highest-grossing concert film in history following its release last week.
During a City University New York event, the acclaimed "Oppenheimer" director commended Swift for bypassing streaming services and traditional studios by directly releasing the film through AMC Cinemas. Her previous concert documentary film, "Miss Americana," came out on Netflix in 2020.
"Taylor Swift is about to show the studios, because her concert film is not being distributed by the studios, it’s being distributed by a theater owner, AMC, and it’s going to make an enormous amount of money," Nolan said, according to Variety.
"And this is the thing. [Theatrical exhibition is] a format and a way of seeing things and sharing stories, or sharing experiences, that’s incredibly valuable. And if [the studios] don’t want it, somebody else will. So that’s just the truth of it.”
As Variety noted, Swift self-produced the film and struck a deal with AMC Theatres that entitles her to approximately 57% of the ticket sales, while AMC collects a small distribution fee.
The film's screening is not limited to AMC locations; it premiered in 3,855 theaters across the United States and Canada and 4,527 venues globally. Because of the agreement with AMC, Swift could earn more than $60 million from the film.
"Any time a film succeeds that wasn’t expected to succeed, it’s an encouraging thing for Hollywood and it’s encouraging for filmmakers," Nolan said while reflecting on his own film's success. "There’s a tension in Hollywood between the familiar and what is predicted to make money — that’s the meat and potatoes of how the studios stay in business — and the desire among audiences for something new, something fresh."
"Any time a film that isn’t expected to succeed, and we vastly exceeded our highest expectations for the project, it’s encouraging for the studios and the filmmakers," Nolan added. "That tension, that reality… between commerce and art, that formula never changes in Hollywood."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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