"Studios missed out by not distributing her film": Christopher Nolan lauds Taylor Swift
Oct 20, 2023
New York [US], October 20 : Filmmaker Christopher Nolan lauded Taylor Swift's concert film, saying that the studios missed out by not distributing it.
Taylor Swift's film 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' was released straight through AMC theatres, as per Hollywood Reporter.
During a recent panel discussion at City University of New York, the Oppenheimer filmmaker discussed how the pop singer circumvented studios and worked directly with AMC Theatres to deliver her picture to the big screen.
Nolan talked with his Oppenheimer producing partner and wife Emma Thomas, who claimed that studios had been too hesitant to release films in the streaming era.
"Taylor Swift is about to show the studios because her concert film is not being distributed by the studios, it's being distributed by a theatre owner, AMC, and it's going to make an enormous amount of money," Nolan said.
"And this is the thing, this is a format, this is a way of seeing things and sharing stories, or sharing experiences, that's incredibly valuable. And if they don't want it, somebody else will. So that's just the truth of it."
During the Oct. 13-15 weekend, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour grossed a record $92.8 million domestically and $123.5 million globally. It also became the highest-grossing concert picture in North America and the second-largest October domestic premiere, not adjusted for inflation, according to Hollywood Reporter.
In terms of his own record-breaking movie, Oppenheimer, which premiered with Barbie on one of the largest box office weekends ever, Nolan has his own view on the convoluted theatrical business and where it's headed.
"Any time a film succeeds that isn't expected to succeed, it's an encouraging thing for Hollywood ... It's encouraging for filmmakers," Nolan explained.
"There's always the tension in Hollywood between the familiar and what is predicted to make money, and that's the meat and potatoes of how the studios stay in business, but there's always this desire [among] audiences for something new, something fresh."
He added, "Any time a film that isn't expected to succeed, and we vastly exceeded our highest expectations for the project, Oppenheimer, it's encouraging everyone, it's encouraging for the studios and the filmmakers. That tension, that reality ... between commerce and art, that formula never changes in Hollywood, because it's just a reality of the industrial process. Films are very expensive to make."
