By Megan Lorich

As 2024 begins, we should reflect on an art form that came back with a vengeance — the concert film. With the release of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Beyonce’s Renaissance Tour, and the rerelease of Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense” through legendary indie distributor A24, it’s undeniable that the concert film had a major return to the movie theater this past year. But with the surge of popularity in concert films throughout 2023, it’s easy to speculate on whether this genre will be successful in 2024. 

Though “Stop Making Sense” premiered a month before Swift’s “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” the former having its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 11th and the latter having its world premiere on October 13th, Swift’s film was undeniably more successful. Advance ticket sales for AMC, Regal Cinemas, and Cinemark were record-breaking with a combined total of $63 million. Swift’s film is also exceptional due to its agreement with the actor’s union SAG-AFTRA. At the time of the film’s release and discussion amongst Swift’s team and theater chains, SAG-AFTRA was participating in a grueling strike against the AMPTP. Despite the strike, Swift’s dedication to having her film made “the right way” stuck with members of the SAG-AFTRA board of directors. The film was given an interim agreement, allowing the film to not only be released during the strike, but also giving Swift the right of way to promote the film. Swift’s dedication to making her concert film feel like a genuine Hollywood movie cemented itself as a must-watch of the year and was praised by critics despite its three-hour run time. 

Swift’s concert film was not only a financial success — it was a cultural phenomenon. The success of the film can largely be attributed to the financial and cultural achievements of the Eras tour itself. The tour is currently the largest-grossing tour in history with stops in Asia and Australia on the horizon in February. Buying tickets was a craze at the announcement of the tour, with Ticketmaster quickly being overrun by the number of rabid fans visiting the website. Scalped tickets reached unreasonable prices, with nosebleed seats being resold for thousands of dollars. While Ticketmaster has long been questioned due to its monopolization of the ticket-selling industry and its scalping practices, the frenzy fans underwent while purchasing Swift’s tickets was so devastating that Congress had a bipartisan meeting with Live Nation Entertainment — Ticketmaster’s parent company. Swift’s tour raised economic and political questions about ticket sales, which have skyrocketed not only for her own tour, but countless artists. Additionally, Swift boosted the U.S. economy with her tour. Along with the ludicrous prices of initial tickets, fans traveling to stops on the tour would spend money in town, boosting local economies. Bedazzled clothes and outfits referencing Swift’s songs were a tour staple, creating an increase in garment sales. This has led economics to coin the term “Swiftonomics.” Fans and critics alike have dubbed Swift “Little Miss Capitalism,” with her oversaturation of vinyl records and frequent drops of merchandise at her online store. Though these merch drops are successful, fans have become disillusioned by overspending. “Eras” also reinforces spending for fans, with fans being incentivized to purchase pay-for-view due to the film’s inclusion of songs from the tour’s set that did not make the theatrical cut of the film. 

Fans who were lucky enough to attend the tour quickly began traditions such as swapping friendship bracelets and chanting “One, two, three, let’s go bitch!” during Swift’s rendition of “Delicate.” These traditions carried on into screenings of the “Eras” film, with this particular callback being a staple at screenings. It quickly became commonplace for Swifties to dance during showings, screaming often interrupting other viewings in theaters. Fans came up with other creative ways to celebrate at screenings, such as copying specific moments from the Eras tour. Taylor Lautner, former “Twilight” werewolf and Swift’s ex-boyfriend, appeared at a screening himself. Recalling his participation at a Swift show in Missouri, Lautner celebrated with fans and did his iconic backflip. Celebrities were often spotted on the Eras tour in a VIP section behind general admission, where Swifties would include celebs in their time-honored traditions by giving friendship bracelets. 

Swift wasn’t the only musical superstar who released a concert film of their 2023 tour. Beyonce released “Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce” on December 1, 2023, grossing $44 million at the box office. Beyonce’s film is stylistically different from Swift’s, featuring footage from multiple stops on her tour unlike Swift, who compiled the film out of her performances at SoFi stadium. Swift wanted her film to be as accurate to her tour as possible, allowing fans who were unable to attend the tour the chance to experience it. Beyonce differs from this, making her film a true film-going experience. Rather than a cut-and-dry performance, “Renaissance” also intercuts footage of the behind-the-scenes of the tour, such as rehearsals and conversations with Beyonce’s daughter Blue Ivy Carter, who performed with Beyonce. The film feels deeply intimate with these sneak peeks into Beyonce’s private life, making it distinct from “Eras.” Like Swifties on the Eras tour, members of the Beyhive quickly developed their own traditions, developing the mute challenge, thoroughly encouraged by Beyonce, into a full-on competition. After Beyonce would sing the iconic line “Look around everybody on mute” during her hit “ENERGY,” concertgoers would quickly fall silent, a challenge that different shows competed in. Once again, this tradition continued into theaters nationwide. Not only did U.S. showings feature Beyhive members dancing and singing along to Beyonce’s vocals, but international showings also participated in the rowdy celebration. Beyonce’s tour was financially successful, trailing Swift’s profit. 

“Renaissance’s” artistic endeavors may divert from the stylistic choices of “Eras,” but they align with another concert film release from 2023 - Talking Heads’ “Stop Making Sense” The film is largely regarded by critics as the single best concert film to exist, its 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes being an accessible indicator. “Stop Making Sense’s” acquisition by A24 clearly aligns with the film’s artistic style. The popularity of A24 is prevalent among Millenials and members of Gen Z —giving new generations the opportunity to experience the film in a theater. Like “Renaissance” and “Eras,” “Stop Making Sense” made a profit in theaters. Its gross of $5 million outdid its original profits in 1984, impressive for a rerelease of an almost forty-year-old film distributed by an independent company. 

“Stop Making Sense” shares stylistic choices with both “Renaissance” and “Eras.” Like “Renaissance,” the film makes clear artistic choices with its lighting and set design. However, these choices were also aspects of the shows featured in “Stop Making Sense,” capturing the magic of the performances similarly to “Eras.” This clear artistic approach is what likely made A24 acquire the film in the first place, along with the star power of and clear appreciation of Talking Heads within its somewhat pretentious fan base. Fans from the band’s original days swarmed the theaters alongside fans who never got to see the band in person. Once again, the rerelease shares something with “Renaissance” and “Eras” — pure joy. Across age gaps, theater-going audiences danced along to David Byrne’s vocals, clear proof that music can transcend time. 

But the release of these films isn’t necessarily an indication of the genre returning to theaters. The last time concert films had a surge in theaters was in the early 2010s, with Katy Perry’s “Katy Perry: Part of Me,” Justin Bieber’s “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,” and One Direction’s “One Direction: Where We Are,” being clear cut examples. With “Renaissance” and “Eras” already being made (despite Swift still being on tour), it is unclear which superstar will step to the plate to create a concert film.

While several stars are internationally touring stadiums and arenas, none of these artists have the significant fan base that both Beyonce and Swift have acquired. Coldplay, though ambitious with its current tour by having concertgoers literally power the show, does not have a fandom with a catchy nickname like “The Beyhive” or “The Swifties.” P!nk is another artist who had a large tour with her classic acrobatic stunts thrown in for good measure, but the financial success based on her show is unlikely. The largest hitmaker going on tour in 2024 is undoubtedly Olivia Rodrigo, whose Guts tour experienced a similar ticket-going craze to Eras. However, Olivia’s age is, unfortunately, a factor when it comes to making a film of the experience. Will executives and producers take her seriously? Has she been an artist long enough to deserve a concert film? Public opinion would determine this. 

This isn’t even to mention the popularity of K-pop groups such as Blackpink, who toured in 2023, and BTS. K-pop fans are known for their devotion to their biases and would likely boost ticket films similarly to the aforementioned concert films. Executives could bank on this due to the way fans boost record sales for their favorite groups. However, with BTS currently serving their mandatory military service, it is unlikely that one of the most popular K-pop groups in recent memory will be able to release a concert film. Additionally, there would be concern from executives as to the film’s transnationalization. Would a K-pop concert film translate well to American audiences who were not K-pop stans? Blackpink, Twice, and many other K-pop groups have released films, but not nearly at the same level of success as “Eras” or “Renaissance.” Concert films are a bet for executives. With the ticket sales for the concerts themselves, executives were clearly able to see the financial profit they would gain from such a profit. 

So… Will the concert film come back in 2024? Unlikely. If concert films are released this year, they likely will not be to the same success as “Eras” and “Renaissance” due to the lack of superstardom artists who are candidates in comparison to Beyonce and Swift. One could say that “Stop Making Sense” was a fluke, but its cult following and distributor were what ultimately made its rerelease successful. No other concert films have the same staying power as “Stop Making Sense,” making it unlikely for A24 to rerelease another concert film anytime soon. The concert film is not only a joy to watch, but a vehicle for laughter, singing, and dancing, across generations. We can only hope that this genre continues to release gems that inspire audiences to return to theaters and revel in the magic of the concert film together.