When Taylor Swift releases something, people show up. AMC Entertainment (AMC) just proved that again with numbers that made CEO Adam Aron genuinely grateful during the company's recent third-quarter earnings call.
Swift's promotional film "Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl," which takes viewers behind the scenes of her 12th studio album, pushed AMC to capture 36% of the domestic movie theater market share during a single weekend. That's a massive jump from the company's typical 24% share, Aron noted on the November 5 call.
"I say this with all the sincerity I can muster: Thank you, Taylor," Aron said. "We are so proud to be a small part of your team."
The Numbers Behind the Swift Effect
AMC screened the film across all 540 of its U.S. locations from October 3-5 and distributed it to other theaters as well. The results were impressive: $50 million in total ticket sales, split between $34 million domestically and $16 million internationally. The film also claimed the top spot at the domestic box office that weekend.
"These impressive results speak to the strength of AMC's innovative distribution abilities," Aron said, "not only bolstering AMC's results but also contributing to the health of the overall industry."
This marks the second time Swift has lifted AMC to box office heights. The concert film "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" distributed by AMC in 2023 made $100 million in global sales before it even premiered, and similarly dominated the domestic box office during its opening weekend.
Building on the Concert Film Strategy
AMC has found success with other concert films too, including one featuring Beyoncé, along with live broadcast events like sports games. Now the company is doubling down on this approach.
"We intend to make this pursuit one of our highest priorities for 2026," Aron said during last week's earnings call.
The company is also exploring how to best leverage its evolving partnership with Netflix (NFLX). Netflix has already released several movies in AMC theaters, including a sing-along version of "KPop Demon Hunters" over Halloween weekend.
"Not surprisingly, given our array of theaters and our loyal customer base," Aron said, "AMC generated more than one-third of all the U.S. theater guests seeing K Pop last weekend."
While discussions about future Netflix projects are "in their infancy," Aron remains optimistic about the potential.
"We do not know yet the ultimate size there can be for this potential cooperation," he said. "But even so…I am highly confident that there is more to come with our two companies working cooperatively together. Stay tuned."
