Taylor Swift is 'in a class of her own right now,' as Eras tour gives way to Eras movie

When was the last time you waited 20 minutes to buy a movie ticket? If you're a Taylor Swift fan, that would be today, as the mad dash began to attend her newly announced Eras tour concert film.

Let's be frank. It's time to call 2023 what it is: the year Taylor Swift took over the world.

After conquering the live music industry, the 33-year-old pop star now is boosting the flagging fortunes of the movie theater business, which has yet to recover from the one-two punches of coronavirus and streaming habits.

Swift's announcement via social media channels Thursday that "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" will come to the big screen Oct. 13 sent fans scrambling to scoop up $19.89 tickets at the AMC Theatres site, spawning wait times not dissimilar to Ticketmaster.

"The only place where you can replicate the global excitement of Taylor Swift’s live concerts is inside a movie theater with immersive, state-of-the-art projection and sound alongside a vocal crowd of passionate fans," says Michael O'Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners.

He hailed Swift for showing "the true potential of what a concert film can do in theaters. This is a great opportunity for fans to experience a huge cultural phenomenon in a very accessible way."

Searches for AMC, which will distribute the taped concert movie, spiked more than 1,000% globally. AMC stock also enjoyed a brief bounce from the Eras movie news.

Tickets are on sale now for Taylor Swift's 'Eras Movie,' a new way for Swifties to bask in the tour

For Swift, a concert film could be seen as yet another way to cash in on an extraordinarily successful tour. But, as many of her fans would surely point out, there is also an altruistic component to the move that goes beyond mere cash generation.

"The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon," Swift wrote in an Instagram post. "Starting Oct 13th you’ll be able to experience the concert film in theaters in North America! Tickets are on sale now at amctheatres.com. Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged."

Understandably, Swifties are crowing. "Taylor dominating music charts, streaming platforms, stadiums and now cinemas all in 2023 ... I don't know a bigger peak year than this," @samfromthevault wrote on X (formerly Twitter), adding a photo of Swift raising a glass of wine.

The forthcoming Eras concert film − a boon to those who couldn't get their hands on tickets that cost four figures and beyond − has already inspired a meme that recalls the "Barbenheimer" mashup when "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" were released on the same day this summer.

The new meme? "#Exorswift," a nod to the planned same-day release of the old horror movie's sequel, "The Exorcist: Believer." But late Thursday, it appears Swift scared off the devil, as "Believer" was shifted to an Oct. 6 release.

Swift, whose ongoing Eras tour is projected to generate upward of $5 billion in consumer spending, isn't just getting fans to open their wallets. In barnstorming across the nation, the one-woman dynamo also has managed to lift pandemic-battered spirits and generate mass gatherings in a way that was unthinkable a few years ago.

The explosion of Taylormania has been nothing short of extraordinary. Although she had millions of fans before the pandemic, that base has grown significantly. New, younger fans just discovering the singer are being joined by older music lovers urged on by a wide range of music critics who, if late to the party, now acknowledge Swift as a legitimate songwriter.

"She's in a class of her own right now," says Jason Lipshutz, executive director of music at Billboard. "You have different artists dominating different sectors of the industry: Some are huge at streaming, some are big draws on the road. But we're at this moment where there's no one better than Taylor Swift, whether that's on the radio, with streaming, ticket sales, or just cultural impact."

So much so that Swift's music has become the subject of collegiate lectures around the world. Swiftie courses ranging from literature to social psychology have popped up at schools like Ghent University in Belgium, University of Texas at Austin, New York University and Stanford.

Lipshutz says Swift's roaring popularity has rooted in two areas: the sheer quality of her songwriting as well as the shrewdness of her decision making. That latter includes opting a few years ago to re-record six of her albums after a dispute with former manager Scooter Braun. "The first three of those re-recorded albums have done so well that it almost doesn't matter what the other three do," he says.

Swift's genius lies not just in her musical craft, but also in her ability to generate a near-frenzied feeling among her fanbase, says University of Kansas sociology professor Brian Donovan, who is teaching a class this fall called "The Sociology of Taylor Swift" and is writing a book about Swifties. 

In his research, Donovan has interviewed fervent fans who feel compelled to collect physical evidence of their passion for Swift, including those who buy vinyl releases without owning a record player, or purchase tour shirts they don't really care for. "Swift knows how to tap into the collector mindset in her fandom," he says. "And folks I spoke to do have that mindset: where they feel compelled to collect every item she produces. She is a musical genius, but a marketing genius as well."

Taylor Swift has helped fans, and the nation, recover from lockdown

Swift began her tour in March 2023 in Glendale, Arizona, snaking across the country through 20 cities across 27 states. The tour has broken records, including the most tickets sold in a day by an artist, at 2.4 million tickets. That's not to mention the ancillary sales generated from her barnstorming tour, ranging from sold-out hotels to packed restaurants.

The excitement is palpable among fans. Part of the Swift sensation is the sheer good vibes she's generated as she's bonded with fans at her shows. Perhaps nowhere was that more in evidence than one of her final shows during a six-performance run in Los Angeles, where her celebrity guests included Channing Tatum and Selena Gomez.

During the first of six concerts at Inglewood's SoFi Stadium, Swift gifted her hat to Bianka Bryant, the daughter of late basketball star Kobe Bryant. The heartwarming moment immediately made the rounds on social media, as a video circulated of Swift hugging the 6-year-old and giving her a peck on the cheek.

To be sure, Swift is not alone in helping the country bounce back from a series of lockdowns that tested our collective spirits and put in doubt the return of mass gatherings.

Performers ranging from Beyoncé to Bruce Springsteen have done their share to bring back pre-pandemic style lovefests. Their concert tours are nothing short raging parties for tens of thousands of like-minded souls.

"Barbie" also helped, filling movie theater seats but also creating a party atmosphere at screenings, with many arriving in Barbie-pink attire − just as Beyoncé has asked her fans to come to shows wearing silver.

Don't underestimate the restorative power of such gatherings, experts say.

"For some people, this is a life-altering experience," says Elizabeth Cline, professor of fashion policy and consumerism and sustainability at Columbia University in New York. "It's easy to be critical about it. But if you think more about cultural significance, I think it's quite beautiful."

Those experiencing the magic of a Taylor Swift concert − whether live or now in a movie theater − are growing exponentially as Swift's career rounds out its second decade.

Donovan notes that Swift's fan base expanded with the release of 2020's "Folklore" and "Evermore" albums, adding more faithful to the flock that is sure to storm movie theaters next month.

"More Gen X-age men were attracted to (those albums), and I think it speaks to her kind of cross-generational appeal," Donovan says. "The Swifties I've interviewed talked about how they grew up with Taylor and now they have children of their own that they're taking to the Eras tour. And those children are also showing enthusiasm for her in the ways that they did when they were a kid.

"That's kind of remarkable."

Contributing: Kayla Jimenez, Nicole Fallert and David Oliver, USA TODAY