From concerts to videos to streams to theaters and finally at home, The Eras Tour was the tour of all time. The official movie was announced on Aug. 31, 2023, on “Good Morning America” on ABC, and then, it was announced to be worldwide on Sept. 26, 2023.
Then on Swift’s social media, Oct.13, 2023, was set as the theater release date.
With this movie, Swift skipped working with Hollywood studios, invested her own money and partnered directly with AMC Theaters. This was something almost unheard of, and it caused her to get hate, but that was quickly covered with the amount of support around the film. On Oct. 4, 2023, AMC said in a press release that “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” had sold more than $100 million tickets on presale globally.
On Oct. 11, 2023, the film premiered, with Swift making an appearance at The Grove in Los Angeles, wearing a blue strapless gown from Oscar de la Renta.
Swift even went around to each theater, starting in Theater 14 and ending at Theater 1 IMAX. She gave a speech at each theater, with Theater 2 getting to watch the film with her after she said, “You’re stuck with me, because I’m gonna, like, sit with you and watch this thing.” Meanwhile, when Swift was watching in Theater 2, with some Swifties, other Swifties watched with the dancers in Theater 1. This debuted in more than 8,500 theaters in more than 100 countries on that Friday, also being played at every ODEON Cinemas in Europe.
Swifties were surprised to find out the total run time was 2 hours and 49 minutes, meaning some parts of the show were cut out. Only “Fearless” and “Midnights” were not cut at all; otherwise “The Archer” from “Lover,” “No Body No Crime” from “Evermore,” “Long Live” from “Speak Now,” “Cardigan” from “Folklore” and “Wildest Dreams” from “1989” were all cut from the film. The filming for this movie was the first three nights at SoFi Stadium in L.A. Swifties knew that the acoustic set would be limited, but Swift made excellent choices and chose songs that most everyone was happy with. She played “Our Song” from her self-titled debut era on guitar and “You’re On Your Own, Kid” from her “Midnights” era (and the song that started the friendship bracelets tradition) on piano. Songs that were recorded but did not make the final cut were “I Can See You” from “Speak Now” and “Maroon” from “Midnights,” both played on Night 1; “You Are in Love” from “1989” on Night 2; and “Death by a Thousand Cuts” from “Lover” on Night 3. While “Long Live” was cut, it soundtracked the closing credits, where Swift said, “Thank you to the most generous, thoughtful, loving fans on the planet. This is all because of you, and for you.” After the film was in theaters, it went to stream on Disney+ as “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Extended Version),” having a total runtime of 3 hours and 30 minutes. This now included “Wildest Dreams” (“1989”), “The Archer” (“Lover”) and “Long Live” (“Speak Now”). Swift decided to release this for her 34th birthday on Dec. 13, 2023.
To end the tour, Swift announced the official Eras Tour book, along with “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” vinyl and CD, both as Target Exclusives, on Oct. 15, 2024. These had a store release date of Nov. 29, 2024, and then, they were available online. These sold out almost instantly online, and on Nov. 29, with that being Black Friday, Target opened earlier than usual just for the book, vinyl and CD. This had people waiting in line for hours just to get one, with many even camping outside overnight.
With the final shows, many Swifties think that a documentary was in the works, and this has been consistent throughout most of the tour. Theories only strengthened after Swift dropped the “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” official music video, as it showcased clips behind the scenes of the tour.
Now, the final show of the tour film is out, along with a six-episode documentary series.
**This is one of a six story series
