Why Movie Theaters Are Leaning on Concert Films More Than Ever — And How Artists Benefit ($)

Published by Billboard Pro on Aug 19, 2026 5:00 PM

Why Movie Theaters Are Leaning on Concert Films More Than Ever — And How Artists Benefit

As consolidation leads to fewer big movie releases, multiplexes are looking to Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, BTS and more to help fill seats.

In the fall of 2023, Taylor Swift briefly became not just the biggest star in music, but the biggest star at the multiplex.

That October, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour opened to $93 million at the North American box office over its opening weekend, stunning the film business and helping kick off a new wave of theatrically released concert films. Importantly, it also arrived amid a sparse theatrical release calendar due to the overlapping writers’ and actors’ strikes, making it a godsend for movie theaters that were starved for content. In this way, it showcased the important role concert films can play for film exhibitors, which are increasingly looking to alternative content as the number of major studio releases declines and audiences stay home to stream from their couches

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While “alternative content” can take many forms, from TV series finales (Stranger Things), to Netflix movies repurposed for the big screen (KPop Demon Hunters), to sports (World Cup games, F1 races), to live broadcasts of plays from Broadway and the West End, and, yes, marching band competitions (distributor Fathom Entertainment’s DCI 2026: Big, Loud and Live), music content is a critical part of the calculus.

“I think people want to come out of the house and gather communally,” says Ray Nutt, the former CEO of Fathom Entertainment (he retired in July), which is co-owned by AMC Theatres, Cinemark and Regal Cinemas and has released concert films from BTS, Garth Brooks, Christina Aguilera and Andrea Bocelli, among others. “I think [with] music, especially, they want to gather, take their friends to the [theater].”