It’s a Wrap: Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Calls Off Continued Overseas Rollout in Theaters (Exclusive)

When AMC Theatres Distribution and Taylor Swift‘s team first revealed the top-secret project Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl on Sept. 19, an AMC press release said the project would ultimately be made available in “100 additional countries or more outside of the United States.” That’s no longer happening, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The plan was for Showgirl to first play for three days only over the Oct. 3-5 weekend in North America, and at least 18 overseas markets, including in Canada, Mexico, the U.K., Ireland, France, Germany, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

According to the Sept. 19 release, additional international territories not listed at the time would play Showgirl at a later date in October. More details about international dates and advance ticket sales were set to be announced on or around Oct. 3. But that date came and went, and the additional international rollout wasn’t mentioned again, other than an Oct. 5 box office note from AMC saying that “this concludes” Showgirl’s run.

Studio distributors who have local offices around the world say it appears the decision mainly impacts Latin America and parts of Asia. Showgirl did play in Mexico, where it was a strong performer, as well as in Uruguay.

AMC declined to comment as to the reason for the change-up in plans. Other sources say it’s possible certain territories needed time to review the film per their ratings and censorship rules, and that Team Swift wanted to move on. There’s also the issue of subtitles (the version playing over the Oct. 3-5 frame apparently played in English only). Swift exercises extraordinary control when it comes to business decisions, although any studio would be eager to work with her. In that sense, AMC has been the envy of the town.

It’s hardly like Swift‘s special cinematic experience needed anything else to crow about. It did record-breaking business at the domestic office, where it towered over the competition — including films featuring two of the world’s biggest stars, Dwayne Johnson and Leonardo DiCaprio — with a final weekend tally of $34.1 million.

That’s an astonishing number for what’s being described as a “cinematic experience” that’s neither a concert pic nor a documentary, but rather a promotional event timed to the release of her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, which dropped Oct. 3 and is setting records. The 89-minute big-screen event was a mix of music videos, behind-the-scenes footage and a series of lyric videos for tracks on her new album. And it was bookended by the world premiere of her music video for Showgirl single “The Fate of Ophelia,” which she directed.

In terms of demos, as much as 90 percent of those turning out were females, while 74 percent of ticket buyers were under the age of 34. The largest quadrant was 18 to 24 (31 percent), according to PostTrak.

Fueled by diehard Swifties, the film is already among the top grossing traditional concert pic or special music event in history behind Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which played for weeks in late 2023. Eras earned $180.8 million domestically and another $80.9 million overseas for an astonishing global total of $261.7 million. In 2019, Sony’s posthumous Michael Jackson film This Is It earned $268 million at the worldwide box office, but it is widely classified as a documentary, versus a traditional concert film or a concert doc. (The topic has sparked plenty of debate, but either way, This Is It was a huge success and is the top-grossing doc of all time, not adjusted for inflation.)

In terms of special event programming, other musical artists have also done album release parties in theaters, such as Coldplay, but they are lucky if they earn $1 million domestically, or even $500,000 for that matter, according to Comscore.

Overseas, AMC reported that Showgirl grossed $16 million from 54 territories — a far different number than the 18 markets originally mentioned — for a dazzling worldwide haul of $50.1 million. Rivals say they haven’t been able to confirm that it indeed played in that many markets. Comscore reported numbers for 14 markets out of a total of 22 territories where it showed it playing, although Comscore can only provide data for territories where distributors report grosses.

This is the second collaboration between Taylor Swift and AMC Theatres Distribution, which launched in 2023 with Eras Tour. Teaming with Swift has been a huge coup for AMC CEO Adam Aron. AMC Theatres Distribution worked in partnership with Variance Films in the U.S. and Canada, and Piece of Magic Entertainment in other international markets.

AMC and Swift’s team are particularly proud that never before has a movie hit No. 1 at the domestic box office with just 14 days between its announcement and its debut. At the numbers they did, perhaps it was wise to go off and enjoy the spoils instead of continuing to worry about further rollout.

Oct. 11, 3:30 p.m.: Updated to clarify Comscore’s position.