The rise of the concert film is making arena concerts more accessible to larger audiences, is this a good thing? For the most part, yes! In 2023 two of the most successful female artists of the decade—Taylor Swift and Beyonce—went on worldwide tours and released high grossing concert films. The concerts themselves were so popular that the nation’s economy was boosted and ticket sites crashed. The theatrical release of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour grossed $250.3 million and Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce grossed $40 million.
Concert films are not a new concept; the first concert film was Adventures in Music, released in 1944. Many notable concert films were released in the 20th century following Adventures in Music such as Jazz on a Summer’s Day (1959), the T.A.M.I Show (1964), and Stop Making Sense (1984), which was rereleased in theaters in 2023.
The popularity of concert films is unsurprising, everybody wants to see their favorite artist in concert but concerts can be costly, loud, and crowded environments. Watching a concert film in theaters is a great lower cost alternative that is also much more accessible to people who might be too young or old or are otherwise unable to attend concerts. Only a select number of cities are visited when musicians perform, and a lot of the time entire states are left out of a tour, not to mention “worldwide” tours where sometimes entire continents are left untouched. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was shown in AMC Theaters which has about 1000 locations, making concert going much more accessible for so many more people.
Some might argue that concert films don’t provide the same experience of a real live concert. And sure, in many aspects that is true. However, people go to concerts for different reasons. Some might attend a concert just to be around a community of people who enjoy the same music and to hear non-studio versions of their favorite songs. Both of those can be achieved by seeing a concert film in theaters. Others might prefer to attend a concert for the energy of concert going which is a good argument towards live concerts, but ultimately it doesn’t outweigh the high costs of a live concert.
For bands that no longer tour or have broken up, concert films are a great way to see your favorite musicians perform. Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense released in 1984 but recently returned to theaters in 2023. The band hasn’t been together since 1991 but the re-release in September of 2023 grossed $5 million. This means millions of people went to theaters to watch the concert of a band that hasn’t been together in decades. The film made more money in 2023 than it had in the initial 41 week run in 1984.
2023 was a big year for concert films. Taylor Swift is the biggest pop star in the world right now and Beyonce could be described as the most influential artist of the 21st century. Both worldwide tours boosted $10 billion to the United States economy and cost fans hundreds of dollars per ticket. Ticket sites were crashing and people were spending up to $500 for a single ticket. While AMC tickets seem pricey, they are not much in comparison to the prices of the concert tickets.
Not only are concert films a good option for people who weren’t able to go see their favorite artist, it’s also a great way to re-experience a concert. Many musicians complain about the amount of phones out at concerts, constantly recording and taking pictures instead of enjoying the moment. Having a professional recording of a concert with quality visuals and sound is a much better way to rewatch a concert in comparison to a phone camera.
Concert films are not only meaningful to fans, they’re also really great alternatives whether the issue be timing, cost, or accessibility. Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, and Stop Making Sense are all hugely successful concert films released (or re-released) in theaters in 2023. Although concert films have been around for a long time, they might be the concerts of the future.
