Taylor Swift’s new movie, ‘Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,’ made a sensational debut, capturing the number one spot on the global box office chart with an impressive $46 million. This total included $13 million internationally and $33 million domestically.
The film’s release coincided with Swift’s highly anticipated new album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl.’ The excitement was palpable, with AMC even relaxing its usual theater etiquette, actively encouraging dancing, singing, and ‘shaking it all off’ during showings.
‘Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl’ offered fans an exclusive first look at the album’s lead single, ‘The Fate of Ophelia,’ along with a behind-the-scenes glimpse into its filming. Swifties were also treated to lyric videos for other tracks and Swift’s ‘never-before-seen personal reflections’ on her latest material.
This strategy proved incredibly effective, leading to the substantial box office haul just two weeks after the movie’s announcement. This marks Swift’s second film to top the box office, following her incredibly successful ‘The Eras Tour’ in 2023, which opened to a massive $93.2 million. However, ‘Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl’ had a limited theatrical run, only showing from October 3-5.
While Swift celebrates her success, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson finds himself in a less enviable position. His Oscar contender, ‘The Smashing Machine,’ unfortunately flopped hard, earning a mere $6 million at the domestic box office. This marks a career low for the WWE icon; even his 2010 thriller ‘Faster’ pulled in $8.5 million (not adjusted for inflation).
Reports suggest that A24 is facing a significant setback, having spent an estimated $50 million to produce the movie, plus millions more on promotional efforts.
‘The Smashing Machine’ received a 7/10 in a review, which stated: “The Smashing Machine punches hard for the most part, but stops short of a knockout.”
Meanwhile, Leonardo DiCaprio’s ‘One Battle After Another’ has achieved a significant milestone, crossing the $100 million mark globally after two weekends in theaters. This makes it the highest-grossing film of director Paul Thomas Anderson’s career, surpassing ‘There Will Be Blood,’ which earned $76.4 million worldwide in 2007. Despite this success, the film reportedly needs around $300 million to break even theatrically, a target that now appears challenging.
A review for ‘One Battle After Another’ awarded it a perfect 10/10, proclaiming: “Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio finally team up, and the result is a 10/10 masterpiece.”
For fans of James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ franchise, ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ enjoyed a week-long re-issue, which included a sneak peek at the upcoming ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash.’ This re-release generated an additional $10 million ($3.2 million domestic and $6.8 million internationally) this past weekend. Prior to this, the movie had already accumulated an astounding $2.32 billion, solidifying its position as the third highest-grossing film globally of all time.