If you missed Taylor Swift's Eras tour, you're in luck: the concert film, filmed during some of her nights in Los Angeles, is now in theaters.
"The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful electric experience of my life so far and I'm thrilled to tell you that it's coming to the big screen soon," Swift wrote on Instagram announcing the film. And she added: "Dressing up clothes, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing are encouraged." (We have some outfit suggestions for the Eras Tour movie this way.)
Unlike Swift's previous concert films and documentaries, including her Reputation Tour film, her Netflix documentary Miss Americana, and Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, the Eras Tour will not be immediately released on a streaming platform. Instead, the pop star partnered exclusively with AMC Theaters to release it.
According to Puck News, "The exclusive screening window for The Eras Tour is also large, especially for the current market. I'm told that theaters showing Taylor's film must agree to show it for a minimum of 4 weeks, and show it." previews in advance, but can play it for up to 26 weeks without worrying about the terms changing. After 13 weeks, the Swifts are free to stream it (those rights are still available), but the focus is on the movies. window, and neither Netflix, which bought Swift's Miss Americana, nor Disney+, which streamed Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions, have been involved in this film."
So you can sell the movie to streamers 13 weeks after its release, which would be January 12, 2024, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will hit streaming at that time. However, we have to imagine that Swift will want the movie to stream at some point. It's not yet clear when that will be; We will update this as soon as we know more.
'Taylor Swift: The Ages Tour' on Netflix
Netflix is โโthe best-known streamer and has the global reach that Swift wishes a streaming distributor had. Swift has also had multiple deals with Netflix before.
On New Year's Eve 2018, Netflix distributed the Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour concert film, having announced it only less than three weeks prior. And on January 31, 2020, Netflix released Miss Americana, a documentary that follows Swift's career and her rise to becoming an icon. In other words, Taylor Swift and Netflix have a history of years working together.
However, more recently the status of Swift and Netflix's business relationship has been unknown. In March 2021, Swift criticized the Netflix series Ginny & Georgia and Netflix itself for a joke on the show about her dating history, a joke that Swift called โdeeply sexist.โ In a tweet, Swift even mentioned her Miss Americana Netflix documentary, which delved into the singer's mental health and the challenges she has faced stemming from a toxic and judgmental internet and media culture. "Also, @netflix, after Miss Americana, this outfit doesn't look cute on you," Swift tweeted. "Happy Women's History Month, I guess."
'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' on Disney Plus
Another likely Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour streamer is Disney Plus. Like Netflix, Disney Plus has a wide global reach. Swift also has a streaming history with this company: the platform premiered her concert documentary Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions on November 25, 2020. The Disney Plus documentary was a hit with both critics and audiences; It received a 100% critic score from Rotten Tomatoes and a 96% audience score.
Reports say Swift already has other deals in place with Disney. An unconfirmed rumor says that Swift will appear as comic book hero Dazzler in the studio's upcoming Marvel film, Deadpool 3. It has also been confirmed that Swift will make her first feature film directorial debut, which will be distributed by Searchlight Pictures, which is owned by by Dinsey.
Given Swift's dealings with the company, it's easy to see how Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Disney Plus would be a good fit.
'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' on Apple TV Plus
A third likely candidate to be the home of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is Apple TV Plus. Apple is arguably the best choice for Swift's film because the company is not just a video streamer, but also a music giant.
Apple owns the second most popular music streaming service in the world: Apple Music. And Swift has had many dealings and influence with Apple Music in the past. In 2015, the company's leadership bowed to Swift after she criticized Apple's plans to withhold royalties from artists in the first three months of Apple Music's life.
The Apple Music service has also previously distributed a film of Swift's concert. In 2015, the company debuted Swift's The 1989 World Tour Live concert film on Apple Music. It was one of the first cases in which Apple acted as a video streamer for feature-length content.
And that was before Apple TV Plus even existed. Now that Apple has two streaming platforms, it could position Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour as a highly watched event, whether you subscribe to Apple Music or Apple TV Plus. As a video and music streamer, Apple can offer Swift cross-marketing possibilities that Netflix and Disney cannot.
'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' on Amazon Prime Video
A fourth likely option is that Amazon Prime Video could take over the streaming rights to Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. The online retail giant has controlled the streaming rights to a Swift event before, for a limited time. On July 10, 2019, Swift headlined Amazon's Prime Day Concert, which streamed live on Amazon Prime and was later viewable for a limited time on Prime Video. And like Apple, Amazon could also market Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour featuring Swift's music on Amazon Music. As for other streamers, like Hulu or Max, it's possible Swift could strike deals with them. However, Hulu and Max are not available in all global territories like Netflix, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus and Amazon Prime Video are. If Swift wants to make the Eras Tour concert film available for streaming in as many countries as possible on the same day (the film will be released theatrically in more than 100 countries on October 13), she'll probably choose one of the four streamers she's already addressed in the past. Right now, all four of them are probably thinking, "You belong to me."
