Taylor Swift’s official release of a Showgirl outpaces Dwayne Johnson’s The Smashing Machine in weekend box office battle

Taylor Swift’s one-weekend theatrical event tied to her new album stormed the box office this weekend, vaulting to the No. 1 spot with an estimated $33 million in North American ticket sales, easily outpacing Dwayne Johnson’s new dramatic turn in The Smashing Machine, which opened to roughly $6 million. Including offshore receipts, Swift’s short-run cinematic event pulled in about $46 million worldwide, roughly $13 million of that from international markets, a remarkable haul for a film screened for only three days.

According to a press release from AMC Theatres, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl was shown from Friday, October 3, through Sunday across all 540 AMC locations. The event was also screened at other theaters across North America, including Cinemark and Regal.

Taylor Swift’s magic

The 89-minute theatrical event featured the premiere of the music video for Swift’s single “The Fate of Ophelia,” along with behind-the-scenes footage from the shoot, lyric videos for the album’s additional tracks, and “never-before-seen personal reflections” from the 35-year-old singer about her new songs.

The Smashing Machine

The Smashing Machine features Johnson, 53, as MMA legend Mark Kerr and Blunt, 42, as his former wife, Dawn Staples. According to A24’s official synopsis, the biopic tells “the story of legendary mixed martial arts and UFC fighter Mark Kerr.

Written and directed by Safdie, 39, The Smashing Machine received a 15-minute standing ovation after its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival last month.

Johnson has spoken in recent interviews about the personal challenge of the role. In a feature published before the film’s wide release, he said he had not felt that kind of nervousness “in a very, very, very long time” and that he had at times been “too scared to explore this stuff.” He described the process as emotionally intense but ultimately liberating. In his words, “I’m not a big therapy person, even though I’m an advocate for whatever it is you need. I found it so scary, but also so nourishing and freeing. I ripped it open.”

Swift’s short theatrical engagement follows the enormous commercial success of her 2023 concert film Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which set concert-film records. Industry watchers are now parsing whether event-style theatrical tie-ins like this, short, low-priced, highly curated experiences timed to other media releases, will become a more common strategy for superstars seeking to create concentrated box-office events.