Christopher Nolan Thinks Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Movie Could Revolutionize The Industry

Christopher Nolan might not be ready to fully call himself a Swiftie, but he certainly has high praise for Taylor Swift.

The "Oppenheimer" filmmaker — who moved from Warner Bros. to Universal in 2021 after the former announced plans to release its entire slate that year simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max — said that Swift's unorthodox release for her "Eras Tour" concert film could inspire other creative professionals to follow her lead. Amidst the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, Swift worked directly with AMC Theaters for the movie's wide release, bypassing studios entirely (with rumors flying that the studios lowballed her before that deal was made). Not only that, but SAG-AFTRA chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland said in September that Swift approached the guild directly to make sure she didn't cross any picket lines by releasing and promoting the filmed version of her-record smashing tour.

"Taylor Swift is about to show the studios, because her concert film is not being distributed by the studios ... and it's going to make an enormous amount of money," Nolan said at a recent promotional event for "Oppenheimer" (via Vanity Fair). "This is a format, this is a way of seeing things and sharing stories, or sharing experiences, that's incredibly valuable. And if they don't want it, somebody else will." Nolan didn't even mention that the Eras Tour's unconventional journey to movie theaters was a potential risk, but it was — and Swift just showed other creatives how to pull off a gambit like hers.

Trying to get tickets to Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is, at this point, an exercise in futility — hearings were even called about Ticketmaster's potentially illegal monopoly after fans waited hours in line, only to come away empty-handed. This is perhaps why the pop superstar pulled together a filmed version of her show so quickly, letting fans all over the world enjoy it without shelling out thousands of dollars or fighting with online ticket services. As with most things Swift does, her potentially risky gamble paid off quite handsomely.

Ticket pre-sales for "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" managed to surpass the 24-hour record previously set by the Marvel juggernaut "Spider-Man: No Way Home," scoring a $26 million haul in just one day (whereas the "Spider-Man" installment earned $17 million in the same amount of time). When the film finally opened on October 13 — displacing other new movies along the way like the new "Exorcist" reboot — it fell just short of its expected $100 million haul with $92.8 million, but it still became the highest-grossing concert film of all time in the process.

Nolan is exactly right — Swift dodging studios and releasing her epic concert film on her own terms could be an important example for everyone from filmmakers to musicians. Beyond the "Eras Tour" film, though, Swift is poised to fully break into the movie industry — putting aside her disappointing turns in movies like "Amsterdam" and "Cats."

Christopher Nolan's a fan of Taylor Swift, but other directors of his caliber are also in awe of her filmmaking acumen. Though she didn't direct the "Eras Tour" film — that duty fell to concert movie veteran Sam Wrench — Swift has directed a handful of her own music videos, including "Anti-Hero," which scooped up an impressive nine MTV Video Music Awards in September 2023. She also helmed "All Too Well: The Short Film" in 2021, structured around the 10-minute version of one of her most acclaimed tracks, and inked a deal in December 2022 to write and direct a film for Searchlight Pictures. 

So what do other directors think of Swift's cinematic plans? Guillermo del Toro told W Magazine, "Yes, yes. She's a very accomplished director, she's incredibly articulate and deep about what she's trying to do — and what she will do," noting that the two share a deep love of fairy tales and frequently discuss them. "I have the greatest admiration for her; we had one of the most stimulating and gratifying conversations," del Toro continued. "We have many, many common interests."

Director Paul Schrader, though, might have the most poetic take on Swift. Back in 2018, he wrote an ode to her on Facebook that has continued circulating on social media: "Let there be no doubt: she is the light that gives meaning to each to all our lives, the godhead who makes existence possible and without whom we would wander forever in bleak unimaginable darkness."

In case you've been living under a rock lately, you may have noticed that the world admires Taylor Swift quite a lot right now. As much as people love Swift's actual tour and its filmed version, faith in the very studios that Swift bypassed is waning. In August 2023, a Gallup poll indicated that 70% of respondents supported the striking actors and writers over the studios. The writers in the WGA have since made a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, or the AMPTP. SAG-AFTRA, as of this writing, is still on strike — and with studios saying that 2% in streaming residuals is an unreasonable request, this strike could go on for a while.

Team Swift's direct deal with AMC, which gave a large percentage to the theaters as well as the greater AMC corporation and Swift herself, showed musicians and filmmakers how to create a world where studios have less power. By crafting a deal that bypasses the largely unpopular major studios, Swift struck a blow for artists and their work. Hopefully, Christopher Nolan is right that others will follow suit. Swift called herself a "mastermind" in a recent song; seems like Nolan agrees.

"Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" is in theaters now.