Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opened in theaters this weekend and, if you've seen the viral videos on social media, you'll know the singer's fans were losing their minds while watching the concert film.
However, while excitement for the movie was through the roof heading into the weekend, it didn't quite manage to top $100 million. That's a champagne problem for the Grammy winner, though, as it still earned a whopping $92.8 million despite falling short of early projections.
Overseas, The Eras Tour earned $30.7 million for a global debut of $123.5 million.
Why is this relevant here on ComicBookMovie.com? Well, while it's now the highest-grossing concert film of all time in North America, the expectation heading into the weekend was that it would take the record from Joker ($96.2 million) to score the biggest October opening ever.
It fell slightly short of that, of course, leaving the Clown Prince of Crime the undisputed October champion in a month typically dominated by horror movies.
"We are grateful to Taylor Swift for allowing us to make Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film accessible to millions of fans in movie theaters around the world," AMC's CCO said in a statement. "Her spectacular performance delighted fans, who dressed up and danced through the film."
As for why The Eras Tour didn't quite reach those $100 million estimates, it's likely because there was virtually no walk-up business. By the time this year ends, the movie is still likely to have landed the seventh biggest opening of 2023 and will probably be the best-reviewed title of the year with a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Next October, Joker: Folie à Deux will be given the opportunity to surpass its predecessor's box office haul when it's released in theaters on October 4, 2024.
We've previously heard that the sequel will take place primarily in Arkham Asylum, with Fleck meeting a kindred spirit in fellow patient Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga). That's a departure from the comic books, but we're not exactly surprised considering the fact 2019's Joker was very much an Elseworlds story as well.
However, with set photos showing both Arthur and Harley on the loose in Gotham City, we're guessing there will come a point where they're freed to wreak havoc.
As the only DC movie being released in 2024, expectations are high and Warner Bros. is surely banking on this being a huge critical and commercial hit that helps usher in DC Studios' new era of storytelling with the DCU and future "Elseworlds" tales like The Batman II.
What did you watch in theaters this weekend?