Yahoo Finance Cineplex banks on concerts as Taylor Swift film breaks presale record
Taylor Swift’s concert film has Cineplex Inc. banking on the theatrical music format after the movie drew the largest event presale of all time.
The theatrical run of the pop star’s The Eras Tour concert, starting Oct. 12, has already generated $6.2 million in presales for Cineplex, the cinema chain said.
Cineplex announced earlier this month that it will also release Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé in theatres in December.
“We’ve just had our best third quarter box office results ever,” chief executive Ellis Jacob said in a press release. “We are bringing people together to experience blockbuster movies, international films and now the world’s most sought-after concerts.”
The company on Oct. 12 reported box office revenues for the quarter ended Sept. 30 of $188 million, or about 106 per cent of 2019 levels.
It said the record third quarter box office results were due to the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon in July and August. So far, the Barbie and Oppenheimer summer blockbusters have generated a combined $2.3 billion in global box office revenues. Swift, Beyoncé and “Barbenheimer” fever had been projected to add US$8.5 billion to GDP growth in the United States in the third quarter, according to Bloomberg Economics in August.
Swift’s Eras Tour is coming to Toronto on Nov. 14-16 and Nov. 21-23, 2024, with the pop star set to become the first artist to perform six shows at the Rogers Centre.
Those who were not able to secure tickets to the live concert have their chance to watch the concert film in theatres starting on Thursday at Cineplex locations.
“Anticipation is high for the Canadian concert dates in 2024,” Cineplex said when it announced the run on Aug. 31. “Not only did it shatter all concert sales records, but it also left tens of millions of adoring fans wanting more.”
National Bank of Canada analyst Adam Shine said the full third quarter box office revenues are reflective of the strength of July and August results.
Compared to 2019, receipts in July this year were up 112 per cent, 120 per cent in August and 77 per cent in September.
“The latter faced a tough comparable as September 2019 marked the second best performance for that month in the company’s history,” Shine wrote in a note to clients.
The company is set to release its third quarter earnings results on Nov. 9.
• Email: dpaglinawan@postmedia.com
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