The Paw Print

By Madeleine Spanbauer

Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour is a pop phenomenon that has completely blown other tours like it out of the water. It has exceeded the expectations of both Swifties and non-Swifties alike, and it has been impossible to ignore how the production has impacted the daily lives of people both at Payton and across the globe.

The Eras Tour is considered to be the highest grossing tour in history, with a projected total revenue of $5 billion, and current North American sales sitting at $2.2 billion. The show contains 146 total dates across five continents and will continue into late 2024.

Because of the success of the tour, along with the fact that Swift has put out movies for each of her tours post-2012, it was abundantly clear early on that there would be a movie version of The Eras Tour. What could not have been predicted, however, was the insane success that the movie gained practically overnight. It is currently the highest-grossing concert film in history, with $123.5 million in global sales and counting, and is being shown at 8,500 theaters in more than 100 countries.

Fans can be seen all across social media in high-energy theaters that are filled to the breaking point with excited Swifties. People have been treating the movie much like the concert, and have brought back the exciting tradition of trading Taylor Swift-themed friendship bracelets to add to the concert atmosphere.

Personally, when I went to see the movie, there were very few people singing and dancing, which proves that the social media image of the movie is definitely less than accurate. There have been many debates across different platforms about proper movie-viewing etiquette, with some believing that fans should sit in silence, and others believing that singing and dancing should be the standard.

Swift made the choice to not include all the songs that she performed on tour in her movie. This was a reasonable choice, as the concert was over three hours long, however, the choices of the songs that she chose to exclude were somewhat polarizing. Included in the songs removed from the setlist were “Long Live”, “The Archer”, and “No Body, No Crime”. The fact that “Long Live” was removed was especially surprising because the song was added to the setlist halfway through the American leg of the tour, and many fans were looking forward to seeing her perform the song in theaters.

As for my personal opinion of the movie, I thought that it was an incredible experience and was extremely exciting to witness (although I can hardly be impartial as a lifelong Swiftie). The production, the lighting, and Swift herself made the movie a cinematic masterpiece that defied all of the expectations I had built up in my head. I was especially excited about the multitude of camera angles, which showcased views from the nosebleed seats, the floor, and even from the stage itself.

The movie did not include any behind-the-scenes interviews with Swift and those who worked with her to make the tour a reality, and many were left wishing that producers had included such exclusive content in order to learn more about the process of putting together the production.

The Eras Tour contains a definite sense of magic surrounding it, which is only added to by the involvement of the fans in making bracelets, dressing up in theme, and creating a multitude of fan chants for specific songs. The movie and the tour are both sure to continue to impact Payton students and people around the world for years to come.