Taylor Swift sparked utter excitement among fans when she announced her impending arrival at the grand premiere of her highly anticipated concert film “The Eras Tour” in the heart of Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
The 12-time Grammy winner, 33, closed The Grove LA mall to host over 2,200 of her most loyal fans, who got a first look at the concert footage on the big screen.
Swift was the epitome of chic as she posed for a photo on Instagram in a flirty blue strapless dress and told fans that she was “getting in the car now” to head to the premiere location.
The film documents one of six sold-out shows Swift performed over the summer at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, as part of her ongoing Eras Tour, which began in March and serves as a look back at her 17-year career.
The film has already collected a whopping $100 million in advance sales alone and will be shown exclusively at AMC Theaters starting Friday, October 13th.
Missing from the fan-filled action was Swift’s rumored boyfriend Travis Kelce, 34, as the Kansas City Chiefs tight end will play against the Denver Broncos at his team’s home stadium on Thursday.
Taylor Swift sparked utter excitement among fans when she announced her impending arrival at the grand premiere of her highly anticipated concert film “The Eras Tour” in the heart of Los Angeles on Wednesday night
She paired her powder blue dress and eyelids with her signature ruby lip and bold cat-eye flick.
For the monumental occasion, she wore a stunning diamond necklace with matching earrings.
The Lover singer’s dirty blonde locks were worn in a chic faux bob that hugged her chiseled jawline.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed that Swift posed with a reusable cup adorned with the Eras Tour poster – suggesting the cup may be handed out to event attendees.
Ahead of her arrival, Swift shared her excitement, announcing that “unprecedented demand” for tickets had led to “early access screenings” starting Thursday in the U.S. and Canada.
“We are also adding additional Friday and weekend showtimes.” All tickets will be available from 10am tomorrow morning. And it will be shown in 90 countries around the world starting Friday,” the star continued.
She then thanked her loyal fans and teased that she was already “in the car” on the way to the big premiere in LA.
“I can’t thank you enough for wanting to see this film that so vividly captures my favorite adventure I’ve ever been on: The Eras Tour.” And the best part is, it’s an adventure we always have still experience together. Get in the car now…” she wrote.
The Grove began preparations for Swift’s big performance earlier in the day, including setting up a huge red carpet around the theater and a step-and-repeat backdrop with the official Eras Tour poster.
TMZ reports that “hundreds of security guards are deployed to prevent chaos from breaking out.”
A source originally told the outlet that Swift “could be pulled if any safety issues arise” or “The Grove gets overwhelmed by Swifties.”
Another insider added that out of an abundance of caution, “hundreds of security forces are on site to prevent chaos from breaking out.”
The upscale shopping oasis, which also includes a large AMC cinema, will remain closed all day Wednesday due to the high-profile premiere.
The pop superstar has already sold more than $100 million in advance tickets for the film, so there will certainly be plenty of fans eager to attend the world premiere.
Swift has not confirmed whether she will make a major appearance at the screenings.
Epic effort: The 33-year-old 12-time Grammy winner closed The Grove LA mall to host over 2,200 of her most loyal fans, who got a first look at the concert footage on the big screen
Eras Tour: The film documents one of six sold-out shows Swift performed at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California over the summer
Exclusive: According to TMZ, fans received invitations to the premiere through Taylor’s team
It is unclear what criteria they were used to select or invite
Due to the scale of the event, roads around The Grove were closed and traffic was diverted
Caution: Despite all caution, “hundreds of security guards (pictured) are on site to prevent chaos from breaking out,” as TMZ reports
Preparation: The Grove began preparations for Swift’s big arrival earlier in the day, including setting up a huge red carpet around the theater and a step-and-repeat backdrop with the official Eras Tour poster
Although the AMC Theater will make money thanks to its sold-out theaters, other smaller companies will miss out on customers after being forced to remain closed all day Wednesday
Although it was initially unclear whether Taylor would be in attendance, the sheer volume of forces required to shut down and patrol the massive open-air mall suggested the hitmaker would be stopping by
Barricades surrounded the huge shopping center
Entrances to the shopping center that were used regularly were cordoned off
Police and security forces were present at the entry points
According to reports, the AMC Theater at The Grove will dedicate all 14 auditoriums to screening the music documentary and the venue will host 2,200 of the world’s happiest Swifties.
According to TMZ, fans received invitations to the premiere through Taylor’s team, although it’s unclear what criteria they used to be selected or invited.
The invited fans are still in the dark about the details and will reportedly not be told where to show up and what time to arrive until 2pm on the day of the event.
Red carpet premiere guests will make their way to The Grove on Wednesday night at 6 p.m., and the film is scheduled to begin around 7 p.m
LAPD officers and firefighters will also be on duty Wednesday to ensure no one sneaks onto the property without a ticket, even though they have to patrol a large portion of the property.
Although it was initially unclear whether Taylor would be in attendance, the sheer volume of forces required to shut down and patrol the massive open-air mall suggested the hitmaker would be stopping by.
Although the AMC Theater will make money thanks to its sold-out theaters, other smaller companies will miss out on customers after being forced to remain closed all day Wednesday.
However, Rick Caruso, the mall’s owner, will reportedly compensate stores for lost business. However, it is unclear how much he will pay and whether it will vary depending on the stores’ regular business volume.
Taylor already has $100 million in pre-sales in the bank, but some analysts believe her concert film could have a higher opening weekend gross than the Barbie film’s $162 million, even if it’s not close will approach an impressive $1.43 billion.
The film was a major coup for AMC. After she and her family became dissatisfied with the demands of the distributors she worked with, Taylor took the unusual step of negotiating directly with the theater chain to act as her film’s distributor – cutting out the usual middleman.
All AMC theaters in the U.S. will show the documentary when it premieres Friday, and AMC has also worked out deals with rival theater chains to allow them to show the film as well.
The film also doesn’t qualify for AMC’s subscription program and tickets are more expensive than usual, meaning the theater chain – and Taylor – will make even more money than usual.