'Taylor Swift: Eras Tour' premier sees star make surprise announcement just before LA debut
LOS ANGELES -- Big news, Swifties! Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" film is hitting the big screen one day earlier than planned.
The superstar shared the news on Instagram Wednesday, moments before her lavish world premiere for the film at The Grove in the Fairfax District.
"Due to unprecedented demand we're opening up early access showings of The Eras Tour Concert Film on THURSDAY in America and Canada!!" she wrote. "We're also adding additional showtimes Friday and throughout the weekend."
The movie showcases Swift's six-night concert series at Inglewood's SoFi Stadium in August.
Early Wednesday morning, aerial video from AIR7 HD showed a massive red carpet had been laid out in front of The Grove's movie theater, along with security barriers.
Few details about the premiere have been released to the media. According to reports, some 2,200 Swifties will attend the premiere at the AMC multiplex.
"We're taking a day off!" the shopping center's Barnes & Noble store said on Facebook. "The Grove is closed for the day on Wednesday, October 11th, and we are too."
A statement on thegrovela.com later confirmed the daylong closure.
The film's advance ticket sales worldwide have already surpassed $100 million.
Swifties will descend. Dancing will be encouraged.
Two of the biggest stars on the planet - Swift and, in December under a very similar arrangement, Beyoncé - are heading into cinemas in first-of-their-kind deals made directly with AMC Theaters that circumvent Hollywood studios and which, for now, leave streamers waiting on the sidelines.
Swift's camp was motivated to get the film out even as her stadium tour continues internationally. The tour, which is projected by Pollstar to gross some $1.4 billion, crashed Ticketmaster's site, saw sky-high resale mark-ups and left many fans priced out.
The movie, directed by Sam Wrench, would be a way for millions more to experience the Eras Tour. Adult tickets are being sold for $19.89," a reference to her birth year and 2014 album, a re-recording of which is due out Oct. 27. That's higher than the average movie ticket but several thousand less than many tickets to see Swift live.
It's arriving uncommonly fast, too, just a little over two months since the SoFi shows. Speed was one reason Swift's father, Scott Swift, is said to have sought out a direct deal with AMC. Swift produced the film, herself, and, with 274 million followers on Instagram, didn't need a studio to promote it.
The pop star's apparent relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce has only further brightened the spotlight on the movie. According to ad tracking firm iSpot, TV ads for the film ran only a few dozen times as of Oct. 6, including several spots during NFL broadcasts. (A Marvel movie, by comparison, might run several thousand TV commercials.)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
