Summary:
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Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl earned an estimated $33M domestic and $46M worldwide during its exclusive three-day theatrical event.
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Dwayne Johnson’s drama The Smashing Machine opened to an estimated $6M, the lowest wide opening of his career so far.
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The short-form Showgirl event scored an A+ CinemaScore and pulled substantial premium-format revenue, showing how eventized releases can still dominate box office weekends.
Taylor Swift’s latest theatrical experiment, Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl, ruled the October 3–5 weekend with a surprise three-day run that brought fans to theaters in force. The 89-minute “cinematic experience” paired the launch of Swift’s new album with exclusive music videos and behind-the-scenes material, and its sales outpaced several mainstream releases including a high-profile awards hopeful starring Dwayne Johnson. The weekend highlighted how limited, eventized releases can still translate into major box office impact.
How did Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl earn $33M in one weekend?
Several concrete factors explain why this short theatrical event performed so strongly.
First, the release was tightly timed and heavily fan-driven. Swift announced the event only weeks before the screenings, creating a “drop” dynamic that pushed immediate ticket sales. Advance tickets were offered at a promotional price of $12 for standard seats a symbolic nod to Swift’s recurring use of the number 12 while premium large-format screenings carried higher prices and accounted for a notable share of revenue. In fact, premium screenings contributed roughly 28% of opening gross, helping lift the overall total.
Second, the exhibition strategy converted fandom into box office attendance. The 89-minute program blends music videos, lyric visuals and behind-the-scenes footage, then bookends the presentation with the world premiere of the “The Fate of Ophelia” music video Swift directed. That mix positioned the event as a must-see for diehard fans while keeping runtime short enough to fit into busy weekend schedules. The film’s unusual format neither concert film nor documentary proved to be an advantage: it became an appointment viewing that almost demanded immediate attendance.
Third, the film played widely across chains and formats. Reports indicate the event was available in thousands of locations, including AMC, Regal and Cinemark screens, and it booked premium auditoriums (IMAX, large-format) that usually help drive ticket revenue. The combination of broad availability and premium pricing in many markets amplified box office returns.
Fourth, the event scored a strong A+ CinemaScore a rare grade that signals high audience satisfaction and can sustain word-of-mouth even for a very short run. That direct audience approval reinforces the idea that this release was built for fans first, general audiences second.
All those elements added up to an estimated $33 million domestic weekend and $13 million international, for a global opening of $46 million powerful numbers for a three-day-only event.
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Did Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl hurt Dwayne Johnson’s The Smashing Machine opening?
On the surface, the two releases targeted very different audiences: Swift’s event skewed heavily female and fan-driven, while The Smashing Machine, directed by Benny Safdie and starring Dwayne Johnson as MMA pioneer Mark Kerr, targeted adult drama viewers and awards-season attention. Still, comparisons between the two headlines were inevitable after the weekend.
The Smashing Machine opened in 3,345 theaters and grossed an estimated $6 million the smallest wide opening of Johnson’s career to date. Early box office tracking had suggested a $12M–$14M start, but exit polling and a B- CinemaScore pointed to muted audience response. Industry observers noted that the film’s wider-than-usual awards-season rollout (opening in thousands of theaters rather than a limited platform release) may have blunted its capacity to build word-of-mouth before reaching wide audiences.
That said, insiders told reporters the short-term competition for premium large-format auditoriums was real: Showgirl booked a number of premium screens that Smashing Machine had counted on for its positioning. But given the distinct audience profiles nearly 90% of Showgirl’s tickets skewed female while Smashing Machine leaned heavily male exhibition analysts argued that Swift’s movie did not directly cannibalize Johnson’s core audience. Instead, Smashing Machine’s soft opening likely reflects a mixture of factors: more aggressive-than-usual wide expansion early in awards season, audience expectations about Johnson’s typical roles, and mixed initial sentiment from theatergoers.
A24 and the film’s team have pointed to historical precedents films that opened modestly but found traction later through awards positioning and limited expansion as reasons they’re not yet counting Smashing Machine out. Still, the film’s debut marks a low-water point for Johnson in terms of opening weekend receipts.
READ MORE: How Did Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl Outgross Over a Dozen 2025 Movies in Just a Weekend?
Box Office Snapshot and Key Numbers
| Title | Domestic Opening (Est.) | Worldwide (Est.) / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl | $33M | $46M global; 3-day exclusive event; A+ CinemaScore. |
| One Battle After Another | $11.1M | $101.7M global (10-day total). |
| The Smashing Machine | $6M | Opened in 3,345 theaters; B- CinemaScore. |
| Avatar: The Way of Water (3D rerelease) | $3.2M | $10M global from rerelease push; playing in many IMAX auditoriums. |
| Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle | $3.5M | $757.6M global total to date. |
(Estimates are based on industry reporting during the October 3–5 weekend.)
Why eventized, short-run releases still work
The weekend underlined a simple truth: fans will prioritize unique, time-limited experiences. Swift’s team engineered scarcity and spectacle. The combination of a globally known pop star, the theatrical premiere of new visuals, and a short window created urgency that translated to immediate ticket purchases. In an era when many films battle for attention across home platforms, converting passionate fandom into in-person events can be a quick win for studios and distributors.
The model also helped studios and exhibitors sell premium experiences: large-format screens and early-morning screenings for devoted fanbases. For their part, theater chains benefit from high per-seat revenue on eventized runs and the publicity that follows. Variety and other industry outlets have noted that Showgirl’s event release was a deliberately nontraditional way to use theatrical space for a music-era rollout.
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How The Eras Tour set the template
Swift’s two-step between music and cinema isn’t new: Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opened huge in 2023, delivering a record three-day box office for a concert film and ultimately grossing more than $261 million worldwide. That success proved that music-driven films, when tied to major cultural moments, can become mainstream box office events — and gave Swift and her team a proven playbook to adapt for the Showgirl release.
What this means for awards-season titles and adult dramas
The weekend also highlighted the tension between awards-season positioning and mass-market event programming. Films like The Smashing Machine often rely on slow-build strategies: platform releases, festival acclaim, targeted screenings for critics and guilds, then gradual expansion. Opening nationwide in thousands of theaters risks diluting early word-of-mouth, especially for an actor typically associated with tentpoles.
A24 has historically used limited rollouts to build prestige (examples include Uncut Gems and the Oscar run for The Whale). Whether Smashing Machine can emulate that trajectory remains to be seen, but its initial opening suggests this particular wide-first approach will need strong critical momentum to reverse course.
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Final takeaways
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Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl demonstrated the commercial power of a tightly executed, fan-first theatrical event. Its $33M domestic and $46M global opening over three days is a notable achievement for a nontraditional theatrical product.
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The Smashing Machine’s $6M opening is a career-low for Dwayne Johnson in wide release terms, though A24’s campaign and the film’s awards potential leave room for a different kind of success.
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Studios and exhibitors will watch the performance of both releases closely. The weekend underlined that eventized content can meaningfully disrupt traditional box office expectations — and that awards-minded dramas need tailored release strategies to find traction.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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