World renowned superstar Taylor Swift left fans thrilled when she announced the Era’s Tour movie, released Oct. 13, 2023. The film received $96 million in box office, making it the highest grossing concert film for opening weekend.
Taylor Swift’s Era’s Tour took viewers through an emotional journey, showing them the phases of her career as a popular singer. The tour included a 44-song setlist pulling from all ten of her studio albums. After each “era” was performed, the entire stage setup changed according to the ambiance of the album.
Swift began her career at age 14 and signed a deal with Sony/ATV, a music publishing company. In 2006, Swift signed with Big Machine Records and scored her first Top 40 hit with “Tim McGraw.” She rapidly gained attention from her loyal fans, self-labeled “Swifties,” and became one of the country’s top artists.
The Era’s Tour movie covered the first three shows of Swift’s “Era’s Tour in Los Angeles at the SoFi Stadium from Aug. 3-5. Swift approximately grossed $13 million in ticket sales per night, attracting an average of 72,000 spectators per show.
The tickets for the Eras Tour received significant backlash due to the expensive price. Swifties even sued TicketMaster, an American ticket sales and distribution company, for violating antitrust laws and unlawful conduct.
With Swift having the movie at a reasonable price, fans of all incomes have the ability to experience the highest ever grossing tour in 2023.
“The main reason why I saw the movie was because I didn’t have the opportunity to actually see Taylor Swift in person,” Jordan Weinbaum, junior, said.
Swift demonstrated her stamina throughout the show, revealing her evolving stage setup, impressive quick changes and consistent energy throughout her three hour long show. She has this unique effect on the audience when she speaks to them, almost like they are friends. In between songs, the pop star conversates with the crowd, creating a more intimate, personal demeanor.
However, not all theater-goers had such a positive experience, leaving some viewers disappointed.
“My movie theater wasn’t that fun compared to others I heard about, with everyone singing and dancing,” Weinbaum said.
For the most part, fans sang along with Swift as if they were really at the concert, creating a unified and uplifting atmosphere throughout the production.
“I saw her in concert in April, so I felt like I needed to watch the movie because I wanted to compare the two,” Delaney Hernandez, junior, said. “All the people in my theater were singing along, there was this little girl dancing in front of me, it was so cute.”
The “eras” portrayed in both the concert and film include her popular albums such as “Lover,” “1989,” “Fearless,” “Speak Now,” “Red,” “Reputation,” “Evermore,” “Folklore” and “Midnights,” with each albums distinct aesthetic illustrated in the movie..
The “Lover” album aesthetic includes bright pastel colors and dreamy visuals to match the upbeat songs in the album. “1989” demonstrated the duality of growing up, as the year is when Swift was born. During the time this album was created, she had transitioned from creating country music to pop. The album represents a period of change, and the emotions that go along with it.
The “Fearless” segment of the film includes gold colors to represent the time in her life where she was rising to stardom, becoming an internationally renowned artist. Swift’s “Speak now” era, just like the album cover, revealed flowy, extravagant dresses and hair and conveying a sense of both fantasy and romance.
The “Red” era was exactly what it sounds like, bright and bold. As the album name suggests, Swift certainly incorporated the color red into a lot of promotional assets for this album. During this era, she wore a nostalgic shirt for true Swifties, the very same shirt she displayed in the original music video for her hit song “22,” reading “Not a lot going on at the moment.”
The “reputation” era demonstrated a contagious sense of confidence with an underlying tone of anger and revenge. This era is represented through black clothing, snakes, black makeup, and knee high black boots, symbolizing Swift’s growth as an individual from the backlash she received at the time.
“I loved the reputation era, it was such a cool part of the movie,” Hernandez said.
Both eras “folklore” and “evermore” were born during the pandemic, and embody a cottage core aesthetic. These albums are different from any of her others because of the indie-folk sound. The movie showed the audience the intricate set made up of a treehouse and forest. Her “Midnights” era included a mythical purple set. Midnight portrays Swift’s journey of finding herself throughout her music career.
Swift also added a surprise song from her debut album. Swift is expanding her music career but re-releasing her past albums previously owned by her former manager Scooter Braun. When Swift signed with Republic Records in 2018, she began rerecording her old song books she could own it’s copyright. Swift’s determination to take ownership of her work empowered and inspired fans.
This incredible film allowed the crowd to travel through Taylor Swift’s journey as an artist. The movie perfectly portrayed the concert for those who could not attend. Somehow, the film made viewers feel seen, feel as though they were part of a bigger community.
Swift’s fanbase is unlike any other, with a deep and emotional connection felt by everyone throughout the theater. The film was a truly amazing experience that I undeniably recommend to anyone interested in having a great time.
