As the end-of-the-year movie slate hits theaters, Taylor Swift vs. Beyoncé is shaping up to be 2023’s final box office battle. Earlier in the year, Barbie and Oppenheimer — a.k.a. Barbenheimer — duked it out at the box office due to their simultaneous theatrical releases. Now, a new set of challengers enters the fray. Unlike other 2023 movie match-ups, however, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and RENAISSANCE: A Film by Beyoncé don’t share a release date. While Swift’s 3-hour journey through her discography hits theaters on October 13, Queen Bey’s boundary-pushing Renaissance Tour journey releases on December 1.
Despite their different artistic tracks, both musicians are record-breaking icons in their own right. Beyoncé is the most-nominated female musician in Grammy Awards history, while Swift is the first and only female solo artist to nab the Album of the Year Grammy three times over. Plus, if the artists’ dual concert success stories are any indication, The Eras Tour and Beyoncé’s Renaissance concert movie are poised to be 2023’s late-season blockbusters. Often, successful women are pitted against each other in one of pop culture’s most frustrating and tired tropes, and, as a result, that has spectators wondering which concert movie has better box office odds.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Compared To Beyoncé’s Renaissance
In a thrilling turn of events, audiences were treated to both Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in 2023. Tina Knowles, Beyoncé’s mother, praised both women for their ultra-successful tours, posting, “to stimulate the economy is no small feat” (via Today). Knowles’ isn’t exaggerating either. According to Forbes, the Renaissance Tour has grossed more than $579 million across 56 stops. The wildly popular tour marked the singer’s first since 2016’s The Formation World Tour, which centered on Lemonade — another pop-cultural phenomenon. This made demand for tickets incredibly high and an estimated 2.2 million fans attended stops on Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour.
While Beyoncé’s half-a-billion dollar gross is nothing to scoff at, Swift has eclipsed most other musicians when it comes to Eras Tour ticket sales and demand. In total, the “Anti-Hero” singer’s tour will encompass a staggering 146 dates. According to Time Magazine, Swift’s Eras Tour has a “projected gross of $2.2 billion in North American ticket sales alone.” Moreover, analysts predict Swift will cross the $1 billion mark in early 2024, shattering Elton John’s $939 million record from his multi-year farewell tour. Ultimately, it’s difficult to compare the tours, as both singers’ shows have vastly different scopes and artistic aims.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Movie Has More Hype (For Now)
Due to what Ticketmaster dubbed “historically unprecedented demand,” legions of Swifties were unable to secure Eras Tour tickets in late 2022. Although the website crashing and booting out Swift fans only added fuel to a fire that’s been simmering for years, everyone from U.S. senators to the “All Too Well” singer herself has spoken out about the platform’s choke-hold on ticket sales. That said, demand for Eras concert tickets was incredibly high. For fans who couldn’t secure tour tickets and the casually curious alike, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour presents an exciting opportunity to see all 9 Taylor Swift eras featured in the concert on the silver screen.
With a movie ticket costing substantially less than entry to a Swift concert, there’s been massive pre-sale noise surrounding the show’s filmed version. According to AMC Theatres, the movie “shatter[ed] AMC’s U.S. record for the highest ticket-sales revenue during a single day in AMC’s 103-year history” in less than 24 hours. It’s hard to top that kind of pre-release performance, but it’s also true that Beyoncé’s has only just announced the Renaissance Tour movie. While the “Cuff It” singer’s first-day pre-sales generated roughly $6 million, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour tickets outsold Beyoncé’s film 7-to-1 on day one (via Deadline).
Why Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Will Beat Beyoncé At The Box Office
At this point, it’s hard to see how Renaissance could out-perform The Eras Tour. While both artists have legions of fans who’ll fill theaters across the country, The Eras Tour might have a somewhat broader appeal, if only because it’s a pure concert-in-movie-form. Beyoncé’s movie takes a more documentary-style approach, chronicling not just concert moments, but her behind-the-scenes journey too. For those wanting pure spectacle, Swift’s movie might have the edge. So far, Swift’s Eras Tour movie is projected to do $100 million in ticket sales (via CNBC), and Taylor Swift has scared off five movies with her film’s release date.
Taylor Swift & Beyoncé Will Both Be Big Box Office Winners In 2023
Ultimately, comparing their box office draws isn’t as exciting as celebrating both Beyoncé and Taylor Swift’s continued successes. Plus, the artists will both get hefty cuts of their respective, box-office-topping grosses. Taylor Swift could break a 12-year-old movie record based on how sales are going so far. Not to mention, the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) will surely boost ticket sales further. Meanwhile, Beyoncé has chosen a historically slow week to open her film, meaning she’ll turn a quiet time into a blockbuster moment. At a time when Hollywood needs some wins, both Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and RENAISSANCE: A Film by Beyoncé will deliver.
Sources: Today, Forbes, Time Magazine, AMC Theatres, Deadline, CNBC
