A dedicated Taylor Swift fan has done all the hard work for Swifties and clarified whether the movie screening of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is actually like a concert.
The enterprising fan posted a TikTok video where they called up multiple movie theaters to ask if fans could “scream like you can in a concert or not,” with the answers sure to please Swifties.
In the video created and posted by @thefolkloretheorist, the fan revealed they conducted the research after a social media post from Swift announcing the October movie screening of the concert encouraged dancing and singing.
Posted on X, formerly Twitter, Swift announced that from October 13 in North America, fans could watch the concert on screen and ended: “Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged.”
Hector Vivas/Getty Iamges
The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon 😆 Starting Oct 13th you’ll be able to experience the concert film in theaters in North America! Tickets are on sale now at… pic.twitter.com/eKRqS8C7d1
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) August 31, 2023
The social media influencer contacted her local AMC, Cinemark, and Regal complexes to find out what concert behavior was acceptable and if you could sing and stand without getting thrown out.
Her findings showed that Regal Movies said screenings “were meant for singing” and only if the level of “screaming”/singing disturbed guests in other auditoriums would Swities be potentially asked to tone it down.
She filmed her conversations with AMC and Cinemark, which both gave similar answers.
All cinemas said concert behavior was allowed unless it disrupted other screens or was a matter of safety.
Dr. Lucy Bennett, lecturer in Media Audiences at Cardiff University in Wales, told Newsweek that the cinematic experience would echo the live performance and create a sense of “home” for fans.
“Concert films such as the Taylor Swift Eras Tour film can play such an important role for fans. They may not involve the artist physically present in front of them, and they may not be actually live, but just as concerts themselves can function as meeting places for fans to come together, so can these concert films,” she said.
“Fans can physically be part of a collective that share the same feels. Just like a live music concert, they may have their individual thoughts and experiences, but at the same time, they are part of collective experiencing it together who also understand and feel the value of the music.”
She added: “Also, we often speak about fandom being a sense of ‘home’ for fans, and I think that live music concerts could be a physical manifestation of this sense of home. You are with others who feel this similar connection with the music. And being placed with them in a specific space, being physically there together, can evoke this emotionally warm space where a fan may feel a sense of belonging. “
Etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore also told Newsweek that cinemagoers should expect it to mimic a concert: “Since this is a concert film, I think it’s perfectly acceptable to sing along with Taylor Swift. Standing is also acceptable as long as it doesn’t disturb others around you. Screaming, however, may be over the top since other theatergoers are trying to enjoy the films next door.”
Whitmore likened the upcoming cinematic experience to watching the “cult film Rocky Horror Picture Show,” and that “audience members dress up in costumes, dance, and sing along. It’s expected.”