The rise of Christopher Nolan has been a fascinating one, as he is one of the very few directors who have the clout to make movies with complex storylines. His films constantly and consistently push the boundary of storytelling and visual style in a movie, as he prefers to showcase special effects without the use of CGI. His projects are full of remarkable names that are not limited to one genre and theme, and he revolutionized the idea of what a modern blockbuster should look like.
Since Nolan has set a new standard in the movie industry, getting praise from the filmmaker is an achievement in itself. Recently, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour got praise from the filmmaker as it is set to earn an astonishing amount of $4.1 billion, and words of praise from Christopher Nolan himself as her film’s distribution system left Hollywood Studios in the dust.
Eras Tour Continues To Extol Swifties and Christopher Nolan
Taylor Swift is one of the most influential artists of this generation, her music is addictive, and the exceptional talent to come up with coming up with songs that make the listener feel understood and validated. These qualities have given her an unshakable fanbase, who are referred to as Swifties.
The Eras Tour is a journey through the Delicate singer’s entire musical career, and fans can relive some of her most iconic moments while witnessing fresh materials.
The musical film has been the talk of the town, and now Christopher Nolan has added his name to the list, as he praises Swift’s film’s theatre distribution system, which will apparently leave the Hollywood distribution system in dust. The Oppenheimer director was recently present for a talk at The Graduate Center, CUNY, where he talked about how using a theater distribution system would lead to earning an “enormous amount of money.”
“Taylor Swift is about to show the studios, because her concert film is not being distributed by the studios, it’s being distributed by the theatre owner, AMC, and it’s going to make an enormous amount of money.“
While Christopher Nolan praises the film for using a different form of the distribution system, how does it differ from the studio distribution system that is normally used, and how is this a game changer in the distribution system?
How is the Theater Distribution System A Game-Changer For Eras Tour Film?
Taylor Swift has transcended her popstar status with her Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, the film has gone on to create history as it became the most successful concert movie in just its opening weekend of release. She was right as she knew that Eras Tour would not be limited to the colossal stadiums, her 131-minute-long film brings the most epic show to her fans.
The show was released on 13 October 2023, and it has already created history with $100 million in advance global ticket sales, making it one of the highest-grossing films.
However, choosing the right distributor was what made the film so successful and so profitable. Christopher Nolan mentioned that Swift’s film would earn a massive amount because what happens in a studio distribution system is that a production studio would be responsible for creating the film.
Then, a distributor gets copies of a film from a production company to a movie theater. The downside of this system is that a heavy percentage of money is distributed among different parties, lowering the profit.
Whereas the Theater Distribution System is based on four components: the physical network, the finance network, the information network, and the communications network. This method is a game-changer because everything is under one roof.
As per Screendaily, AMC, the distributor of the film will distribute the film in every one of its 568 locations, and it is using chains to distribute the film to more locations.
As per Screendaily, “AMC and the sub-distributors take charge of promoting the film in their venues and through their direct-to-customer channels.” While AMC has not disclosed the terms of the deals it is assumed that the “ticket revenue split is in the high-50% range.” And it is estimated that the film will earn $4.1 billion at the global box office.
