Taylor Swift made a movie star appearance at the world premiere of her The Eras Tour concert film on Wednesday at The Grove’s AMC Theatre.
The superstar — who just before the Los Angeles event announced her film would debut on Thursday in North America instead of its initial Friday night release date — arrived early and posed for photos with her team and with director Sam Wrench before quickly running inside. Hundreds of fans lined the theater entrance, trading friendship bracelets and singing Swift’s hits as she stopped for selfies with many of them. Stars including Rachel Zegler, Maren Morris, Simu Liu, Julia Garner, Mariska Hargitay and Adam Sandler were among the attendees, as well as Swift’s mother Andrea and father Scott. Beyoncé — who has her own concert film, Renaissance, being released through AMC in December — also made a surprise appearance at the event, posing alongside Swift on the carpet.
Ahead of the screening, Swift gave a brief speech in each of the 13 theaters showing the film, telling the crowd, “I wanted to come and say hi to you before you watched the film because honestly, the fact that this tour was such a grand adventure has everything to do with the ways in which you cared about this tour and about these shows. I think that you’ll see that you’re absolutely a main character in the film, because it was your magic and your attention to detail and your sense of humor and the ways that you lean into what I’m doing and the music I create.”
She shouted out those who worked on the post-production and editing of the film, saying, “In my mind, it is the perfect capture of what this show was like for me.” Swift also thanked fans “for being so incredibly extra, I appreciate it more than you know. This night is like an extremely core memory for me, so you’re apart of it and I’m so grateful for that.” In one theater, the star sat with her backup singers to watch the movie, as the audience sang and danced along.
Earlier in the day, L.A. prepared for Swift-induced madness to hit the city as famed shopping center The Grove posted on its social media channels that the entire complex would be shut down on Wednesday for the event.
Social media videos also showed The Grove’s usual cobblestone streets covered in a large red carpet surrounding the theater as well as step-and-repeat backdrops featuring the Eras Tour poster. Streets surrounding the venue were shut down as well, with an increased police presence in the area. The Original Farmers Market nestled alongside The Grove, however, posted on its social media that it is still open for business on Wednesday; THR stopped by and saw a number of barricades blocking Farmers Market patrons from entering The Grove, as Swift’s songs played through the speakers overhead.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which opens in over 8,000 theaters worldwide on Friday and is being distributed directly through AMC Theatres, documents the record-breaking Eras Tour that Swift kicked off in March with the 44-song setlist spanning the many albums of her career. The concert film clocks in at two hours and 48 minutes, running a bit shorter than her three-hour-plus shows. Just before the premiere event, Swift announced that the film will open early in North America and Canada, with screenings starting on Thursday night.
The Eras Tour is headed for a record global opening for a concert film of $150 million to $200 million, including $100 million to $125 million in North America and $50 million to $75 million overseas, following advance global ticket sales that crossed the $100 million mark a week before the film opened.
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