According to Mara Reinstein's article on December 10, 2023, the **best movies of 2023** include "Barbie", "Oppenheimer", and "M3gan" among others ¹. However, the article also highlights Taylor Swift's concert movie, "The Eras Tour", as a game-changer in the movie industry.
The movie, which was nearly three hours long, offered zero minutes of backstage footage from her mega-selling tour. Despite this, fans who caught the live show were thrilled to relive their summer memories, while those who missed it were afforded a front-row seat at a fraction of the cost. The audiences didn't just passively sit and watch as if it were an eat-your-vegetables period piece, either. They sang and danced and turned it into a joyous $150-million-grossing interactive experience ¹.
The movie industry had been struggling due to the devastating SAG-AFTRA strike that was still in full throttle in October 2023. High-profile projects like Dune 2 had been jettisoned to 2024, and the films that were being released couldn't benefit from proper promotion. An industry that had barely emerged from the pandemic seemed on life support. Only true cinephiles cared about going to the movies ¹.
However, Taylor Swift's concert movie breathed new life into the industry and proved that movies could be more than just a passive experience. It was a reminder that movies could be a source of joy and entertainment, and that they could bring people together in a way that few other things could. As we look forward to the rest of 2023 and beyond, we can only hope that more movies will follow in the footsteps of "The Eras Tour" and provide audiences with an unforgettable experience ¹.
