It's peak Taylormania at L.A. movie theaters for 'The Life of a Showgirl' release party

Only Taylor Swift could compel hundreds of Angelenos to walk their Saturday greeting astatine a listening enactment movie screening for an medium they’ve already heard.

“The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” which deed theaters this play for a constricted three-day run, features the debut of the Swift-directed “The Fate of Ophelia” euphony video, behind-the-scenes footage and notes from Swift astir the inspiration for each of the songs connected her caller record, “The Life of a Showgirl.” The 89-minute companion movie opened to an estimated $15.8 cardinal connected Friday and is projected to gross much than $30 cardinal implicit the weekend.

The container bureau occurrence comes arsenic nary surprise; “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” brought successful $96 cardinal successful 2023 successful its archetypal 4 days successful theaters and became the highest-grossing performance movie of each time. Hitting 21 countries successful 21 months, the Eras Tour itself earned much than $2 cardinal successful revenue, the archetypal euphony circuit to ever deed that milestone.

Even arsenic “Showgirl” seems destined to go Swift’s astir divisive medium yet — with critics and fans alike divided successful their reactions — the Taylormania was palpable Saturday greeting astatine AMC Century City, which that time screened “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” 21 times crossed 3 screens.

Madison Story, 34, made definite to drawback the movie astatine the luxury Dolby Cinema, calling “Showgirl” Swift’s “most cinematic medium yet.”

“When I was listening to it, I conscionable pictured Nora Ephron movies,” Story said. In existent rom-com fashion, the longtime Swiftie wore a Lover cardigan. Others sported assorted Swift circuit merch, sequined scarves and showgirl-inspired attire.

Taylor Swift’s caller album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” is advertised extracurricular of AMC Century City 15, which is screening “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.”

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

As theatergoers took their seats during the prelude to the show, Swift’s “Reputation” opener “Ready for It?” played implicit a slideshow of “Showgirl” promo photos. At 10 a.m. connected the dot, the surface went dark, past switched to an Eras Tour-style countdown timepiece — acceptable to 12 seconds, for Swift’s 12th workplace medium (which, naturally, besides features 12 songs).

When Swift yet graced the surface to present the program, assemblage members were mesmerized. Hardly anyone made a peep.

“I’m Taylor, the authoritative hypothetical showgirl successful question,” Swift said, telling the assemblage that successful making the movie that’s not rather a movie, she was, arsenic always, “trying to astonishment you guys.”

“I anticipation you guys person a blast. I anticipation you sing along,” she said.

Despite Swift’s invitation, and the assistance of lyric displays for each “Showgirl” track, the assemblage was amazingly quiescent passim the screening speech from a fewer rounds of applause and occasional laughter astatine Swift’s trademark awkward-girl charisma. (“My breadstuff is really a euphony video star!” was a crowd-pleaser.)

“I consciousness similar her quirkiness has been the aforesaid since she did [her] debut [album], and it’s neat to spot that that has lasted done each the antithetic iterations and eras,” said moviegoer Kelley Sheets, 30.

Sheets and her friends Sarah Borland, 29, and Ariana Diaz, 30, were taken aback by the quiescent ambiance successful the auditorium, particularly compared to “The Eras Tour” movie.” They suspected the medium mightiness beryllium excessively caller for radical to consciousness comfy singing and dancing along.

Attendees’ debased vigor whitethorn person besides been a grounds of the greeting showtime. Still, their delight was wide from their wide smiles and intermittent caput bobbing, astir pronounced during the ear-catching “Opalite” chorus.

As expected, immoderate of Swift’s much questionable lyrics — galore of which were exponentially funnier arsenic cleanable versions — garnered immoderate chuckles, and “Actually Romantic,” an alleged Charli XCX diss track, notably concluded without applause. But claps were generous for Swift’s closer, which saw the creator sincerely thanking her fans for being her muse.

“This medium was wholly inspired by the astir unthinkable clip of my beingness that was truthful exciting, due to the fact that you made the Eras Tour what it was,” Swift said.

“The mode that that circuit felt, the mode that it conscionable benignant of lit up my full life, was specified a done enactment of making this music,” she said. “So convey you for being that unknowing inspiration down the scenes. I was internalizing each of that emotion and putting it into that record.”

During Swift’s medium rollouts much than a decennary ago, she hosted listening parties she dubbed “secret sessions.” At these intimate gatherings, the vocalist gave prime fans a sneak peek astatine her caller music, explaining the inspiration for each way and adjacent playing immoderate songs live.

Nick Eittreim, 28, was ever jealous of the fans who got to be those parties. With “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” helium said, “It’s similar I’m yet invited to that ‘secret session.’”

Rachel Birnam, 30, said portion the “secret sessions” were “such a peculiar thing, it’s bully that this is accessible to everybody.”

Taylor Swift fans Nick Eittreim and Melissa Roberts, some 28, get for “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” astatine AMC Century City 15 connected Saturday.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

Anthony Cendejas, a manager astatine AMC Century City, said the theatre has been noticeably busier with the merchandise of “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.”

“More radical than accustomed are dressing up,” Cendejas said, adding that galore theatergoers person followed up their AMC visits with a halt astatine “The Life of a Showgirl” TikTok instrumentality activation, moving until Oct. 9 successful the Westfield Century City Atrium. The immersive acquisition allows visitors to instrumentality photos and videos connected a bid of sets replicating those successful “The Fate of Ophelia” euphony video.

Jamie Phillips and her daughters Rowan, 11, and Finley, 12, visited the TikTok activation Saturday afternoon. The trio besides brought the biggest Swiftie successful their family, their Saint Bernard named Lincoln, on with them. In their household photos, Lincoln wore a feather boa to lucifer Rowan and Finley’s.

Jamie Phillips, left, takes a photograph of her daughters Finley, 12, center, and Rowan, 11, with their canine Lincoln astatine a TikTok instrumentality activation for Taylor Swift’s caller album.

(Christina House / Los Angeles Times)

When the Phillips household heard “The Life of a Showgirl” for the archetypal time, Jamie Phillips said, “All of america were pleasantly surprised.”

“Usually it takes me, peculiarly with her albums, a batch of listens to beryllium like, ‘OK, it’s OK,’” she said. But this 1 they loved connected the archetypal go-around.

The trio hadn’t yet made it to “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” but they hoped to compression it successful Sunday on with a “Gilmore Girls” day lawsuit astatine the Grove.

In the meantime, they couldn’t hold to get backmost home, wherever their “Showgirl” merch was waiting for them.