Vegas Sphere to screen immersive U2 concert film
Sphere Las Vegas is to debut an exclusive “cinematic experience” based around U2’s groundbreaking show at the venue.
Directed by Morleigh Steinberg and The Edge, V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film at Sphere Las Vegas will open at Sphere on Thursday 5 September. Tickets are priced from $100, with U2.com subscribers receiving first access to presale tickets.
“V-U2 is a first-of-its-kind immersive film that will transport audiences back to U2’s groundbreaking live Sphere shows and make them feel like they are there,” says Josephine Vaccarello, EVP, live, MSG Entertainment, who oversees live bookings for Sphere. “This concert film was created specifically for Sphere, and will utilise the venue’s technologies to create an experience that is only possible at this next-generation entertainment medium.”
U2 sold more than 700,000 tickets across 40 sold-out dates at Sphere from September 2023 to March 2024. The residency saw the group reunite with creative collaborator and show director Willie Williams, as well as artists including Es Devlin, John Gerrard and Marco Brambilla.
According to Pollstar, the stint is Las Vegas’ highest-grossing residency of 2024 so far, grossing $84.7 million (€77.5m) from 249,122 ticket sales for 15 shows held between January and March.
The V-U2 show is a Sphere Experience, Sphere’s signature original content category, and is the first film to be shot entirely with Big Sky, the ultra-high-resolution camera system developed by Sphere Entertainment. The film was produced by band members The Edge, Bono and Adam Clayton, along with producer Alan Moloney, in collaboration with Sphere.
“The end result is a cinematic experience that transports viewers into the energy and beauty of the live show”
“We knew all the tremendous capabilities of the technology, but we didn’t know what to expect from the process of making this film,” adds Steinberg. “The work became a true collaboration between band, artists, producers, and technology teams. The end result is a cinematic experience that transports viewers into the energy and beauty of the live show.”
Sphere Entertainment executive chair and CEO Jim Dolan hinted at the expansion into immersive content as a means of extending the lifespan of the venue’s residencies during last week’s company earnings call.
“If you look at the concerts that we’ve had, and the events that we’ve had in the Sphere so far, and you think of them as an experience, then recording them actually in the Sphere itself is probably the most perfect place to make an experiential recording,” he says. “So that suggests that there’s a product there. I expect you’ll hear from us soon about that kind of content.”
In its fiscal 2024 financial results, the firm posted full-year revenues of $1.03 billion (+$453m on the prior year), with an operating loss of $341.2m (+$68.2m) and adjusted operating income of $80.7m (+$203.3m).
Sphere has also hosted residencies by Phish and Dead & Company, as well as the ongoing Darren Aronofsky-directed immersive production Postcard from Earth. The Eagles are due to kick off a 20-show run at the $2.3bn venue next month, while Anyma is set to become the first electronic act to perform with a six-night stint from 27 December to 1 January.
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The top 10 highest-grossing music concert films
Concert films are continuing to result in blockbuster business at the box office, with Usher the latest superstar artist destined for the big screen.
AMC Theatres Distribution, Trafalgar Releasing and Sony Music Vision announced this week that Usher: Rendezvous in Paris will arrive in 2,000 cinemas worldwide for a limited run from 12-15 September.
Usher: Rendezvous in Paris features footage filmed during the 45-year-old American’s eight-night residency at Paris’ La Seine Musicale in September/October 2023.
“He is the perfect artist to support our shared vision of creating global experiences around concert films for artists”
“We are excited to continue our partnership with Sony Music Vision and AMC Theatres Distribution to bring the energy of Usher to movie theatre audiences around the world,” says Trafalgar Releasing CEO Marc Allenby. “He is the perfect artist to support our shared vision of creating global experiences around concert films for artists that advance the evolution of the cinema into venues for all forms of entertainment.”
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour (2023) earned US$267.7 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo, to become the highest-grossing concert/documentary film in box office history. Upon the film’s release in October 2023, The Eras Tour made $92.8m in North America and $30.7m internationally for a cumulative total of $123.5m, making it the biggest opening weekend of all time for a concert film.
Swift opted for a non-traditional release of the presentation, filmed over three nights in August 2023 at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, that saw her work directly with AMC and avoid opting for distribution from a major studio.
Taylor Swift heads a top 5 also featuring Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, One Direction & Beyoncé
In terms of classic concert films (thus discounting the 2009 Michael Jackson’s This Is It documentary), Box Office Mojo data puts Eras at #1 in a top 5 also featuring Justin Bieber: Never Say Never ($99m) from 2011, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert ($70.7m) from 2008, One Direction: This Is Us ($68.2m) from 2013 and last year’s Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé ($44m).
The top 10 is completed by 1970’s Woodstock ($34.7m), Katy Perry: Part of Me ($32.7m) from 2012, BTS’ Permission to Dance on Stage – Seoul: Live Viewing ($32.6m) from 2023, 2013’s Metallica Through the Never ($31.9m) and 2009’s Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience ($30.4m).
Dutch violinist André Rieu has been a forerunner in the space, occupying 13 of the top 50 spots, while Coldplay made history in October 2022 with the first ever live worldwide cinema broadcast of a concert from Latin America.
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Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film is coming to streaming
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert film is arriving on Disney + globally on 15 March, with five additional songs.
The streaming service will make available ‘Taylor’s Version’ of the film, which includes the performance of ‘Cardigan’ and four acoustic songs that were cut out of the theatrical release.
In January, The Eras Tour concert film became the highest-grossing concert/documentary film in box office history with more than US$261.6 million earned globally.
The new record sees The Eras Tour usurp Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which opened in 2009 and grossed $261.2m at the global box office.
In January, The Eras Tour concert film became the highest-grossing concert/documentary film in box office history
Upon the film’s release in October 2023, The Eras Tour made $92.8m in North America and $30.7m internationally for a cumulative total of $123.5m, making it the biggest opening weekend of all time for a concert film.
Earlier this week, Swift announced at the Grammy Awards that she is set to release a new album, titled The Tortured Poets Department, in April.
The record will mark her 11th studio album and follows her 2022 record Midnights, and more recently the singer’s re-recordings of Speak Now and 1989.
Elsewhere at the Grammy Awards, the superstar was awarded Album Of The Year for Midnights, marking her fourth win in the category. With the win, Swift is now the all-time leader in Album Of The Year wins, setting a new record.
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Taylor Swift concert film makes box office history
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour has become the highest-grossing concert/documentary film in box office history with more than US$261.6 million earned globally.
The new record sees The Eras Tour usurp Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which opened in 2009 and grossed $261.2m at the global box office.
Upon the film’s release in October 2023, The Eras Tour made $92.8m in North America and $30.7m internationally for a cumulative total of $123.5m, making it the biggest opening weekend of all time for a concert film.
It unseated 2011’s “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,” which earned $73m in the same timeframe. At the domestic box office, it stood as the second-biggest October debut ever behind 2019’s “Joker,” which pulled in $96m, and had the seventh-biggest opening weekend of 2023.
Swift stands to reap more than half of the ticket sales from The Eras Tour, thanks to a non-traditional release that saw her avoid opting for distribution from a major studio.
“Her spectacular performance serves as another strong reminder about the power of extraordinary filmmaking”
Instead, the superstar partnered with the world’s largest cinema chain, AMC Theatres, which allowed her, as a producer on the film, to reap about 57% of ticket sales. Cinemas kept the remaining revenue and AMC took a small distribution fee.
The film played in 3,855 cinemas (including non-AMC venues) throughout the US and Canada and 4,527 venues internationally. Most recently, it opened in China with a tally of $8.7m following its debut on 31 December. On 13 December, Swift’s birthday, the film was released on streaming.
“On behalf of all of us at AMC Theatres, I send my congratulations and eternal gratitude to Taylor Swift for her remarkable and record-setting box office performance with ‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour‘ concert film,” says AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron. “Her spectacular performance delighted fans around the world and serves as another strong reminder about the power of extraordinary filmmaking and magic of movie theatres.”
Swift resumes the Eras Tour on 7 February with a four-night stint at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. Following that, the tour moves on to Australia, Asia and Europe and concludes in Canada.
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The Eras Tour’s $5.7bn economic impact revealed
The opening leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour reportedly contributed a whopping $5.7 billion to the US economy.
Running to 50+ dates, the 2023 US stretch launched at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona in March and concluded with six shows at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California in August.
The Washington Post has broken down the numbers behind the tour, reporting that her SoFi Stadium residency brought an estimated $320 million alone to the Los Angeles economy. Other highlights included her two dates at each of Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium and Kanas City’s GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium, which generated around $50m for their respective economies.
Widely expected to become the highest-grossing tour of all time, Eras will return to the US in autumn next year for further dates in North America, including six nights in Canada at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.
Swift’s Eras Tour concert film earned $96m domestically and $128m worldwide in its opening weekend
The tour is currently on a break following a four-show run in Mexico at Foro Sol, Mexico City in August. It will resume in South America in November and heads to Japan, Australia and Singapore in early 2024 before touching down in Europe in May.
The Eras Tour led the way in the revenue stakes in H1 2023, garnering $300.8m from its first 22 nights on total ticket sales of 1,186,314 and an average ticket price of $253.56.
Meanwhile, Swift’s Eras Tour film has got off to a storming start at the box office after debuting in 100 countries on 13 October. The WP reports the presentation earned $96m domestically and $128m worldwide in its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo – the biggest opening for a concert film ever and the second biggest domestic opening for an October film of any genre, behind only 2019’s Joker.
Eras was screened in nearly 4,000 movie theatres in North America and features footage from the singer’s SoFi Stadium concerts, and shattered AMC’s US record for the highest ticket-sales revenue during a single day in the company’s 103-year history. The film should comfortably surpass the record-breaking $99m (adjusted for inflation) earned by Justin Bieber’s 2011 movie Never Say Never.
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Taylor Swift concert film advance sales top $100m
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour concert film has grossed more than $100 million in advance ticket sales over a week before its premiere.
AMC Theatres Distribution and its sub division partners Variance Films, Trafalgar Releasing, Cinepolis and Cineplex have reached agreements for the presentation to debut at 8,500 cinemas in 100 countries next Friday, 13 October.
It will be screened in nearly 4,000 movie theatres in North America alone, as well as every ODEON Cinema in Europe.
In its first 24 hours on sale, the film shattered AMC’s US record for the highest ticket-sales revenue during a single day in the company’s 103-year history.
The BBC reports it is already the most profitable concert film in history, overtaking Justin Bieber’s Never Say Never, which made $99m in 2011, and the Swift film will join just five movies in having generated more than $100m in their North America debut this year.
“What we’re seeing on this particular Taylor tour is almost like a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon”
The Eras Tour was the highest-grossing tour of H1 2023 by a wide distance, based on Pollstar data and has been tipped to become the first live music tour in history to gross more than US$1 billion.
“What we’re seeing on this particular Taylor tour is almost like a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon,” International Artist Group EVP and head of global music Jarred Arfa told the Wall Street Journal. “It’s pretty astonishing.”
AMC will also distribute Beyoncé’s concert film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé this December. According to a statement, the film “chronicles her intention, hard work as creative and producer, and her process in mastering her craft to execute the 56-performance, 39-city, record-breaking and phenomenally successful global outing”.
The singer’s Renaissance World Tour wrapped earlier this week after earning more than $579 million (€554m) worldwide at the box office.
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