Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour And Different Highest-Grossing Live performance Movies of All Time

Artist: André Rieu

Worldwide gross: USD 3.320 million

Running Time: 2 hours and 18 minutes

About the film: Maastricht is a city in the Netherlands and the hometown of Dutch Violinist and conductor André Rieu. The musician performed a record number of 13 concerts in the city’s famous square known as Vrijthof. Estimates suggest that around 150,000 fans from over 80 countries came to the city to attend the event. The live recording was made in July 2018, during which Rieu performed popular arias such as Giacomo Puccini’s “Nessun Dorma,” melodies like “Granada,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” and the “Radetzky March,” as well as popular music such as “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and “You Raise Me Up.”

Artist: André Rieu

Worldwide gross: USD 3.324 million

Running Time: 2 hours and 25 minutes

About the film: For this live recording, Rieu performed “Italian Volare and Funiculi,” “Concierto de Aranjuez,” Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” and the aria “Au fond du temple saint (The Pearl Fishers’ Duet )” from the Georges Bizet opera The Pearl Fishers, among other classics.

Artist: André Rieu

Worldwide gross: USD 3.7 million

Running Time: 2 hours and 34 minutes

About the film: The special concert film celebrates the life of Rieu, who is famously known as the ‘King of Waltz,’ on the occasion of his 70th birthday. It chronicles Rieu’s career through his performances in some of the most important music venues of the world, such as Schönbrunn in Vienna, Radio City Music Hall in New York and the Royal Coronation Concert in Amsterdam.

Artist: The Rolling Stones

Director: Hal Ashby

Worldwide gross: USD 3.8 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes

About the film: One of the most famous concert films of all time, Let’s Spend the Night Together documents the Rolling Stones’ 1981 North American tour. The filming was done during the shows in Tempe, Arizona, and East Rutherford, New Jersey. In a review of the film, the late Roger Ebert noted that it is “wall-to-wall music” and does not go into details such as how a rock concert is staged, the phenomenon of the Rolling Stones and the life of its lead vocalist Mick Jagger. Ebert also underlined that the film was reportedly photographed with 21 cameras. Among the songs featured is the title track, “Let’s Spend the Night Together,” which was originally released in 1967.

Image credit: IMDb

Artist: Talking Heads

Director: Jonathan Demme

Worldwide gross: USD 5.30

Running Time: 1 hour and 28 minutes

About the film: Several critics consider Stop Making Sense as the greatest concert film of all time. It was filmed live over the course of three nights during the performance of Talking Heads at Hollywood’s Pantages Theater in December 1983. Among the songs featured are “Psycho Killer,” “Heaven” and “Thank You for Sending Me an Angel.” The film, which stars core band members David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison, along with Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steve Scales, Lynn Mabry and Edna Holt, was restored to 4K resolution in celebration of its 40th anniversary.

Image credit: IMDb

Artist: Bette Midler

Director: Michael Ritchie

Worldwide gross: USD 5.31 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 35 minutes

About the film: Roger Ebert praised Divine Madness for the filmmaking style employed by Ritchie, who ensured that the only things audiences would see were the stage, Midler, and her backup singers, the Harlettes. This was quite a new feat as in those days, concert films would also capture cinematographers and multiple cameras. The recording was done in 1970 during Midler’s performance at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, where she regaled audiences with both racy jokes and songs such as “The Rose,” “I Shall Be Released” and “Leader of the Pack”.

Image credit: IMDb

Artist: Mayday

Director: Muh Chen

Worldwide gross: USD 7.4 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 52 minutes

About the film: Mayday Life 3D is the filmed version of Taiwanese band Mayday’s two-year-long Life Tour concert. Besides major cities in Taiwan and Mainland China, the concert was held in multiple Asian cities, including Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul and Bangkok, as well as cities in North America and Europe. The concert started in March 2017 and ended in January 2019. The concept of the tour, as is the film, revolves around five fading superheroes summoned to save the world from an extraterrestrial force that hates sound. To date, Mayday Life 3D remains the highest-grossing Asian concert film of all time.

Image credit: © B’in Music Co. Ltd/IMDb

Artist: Metallica

Director: Nimród Antal

Worldwide gross: USD 7.9 million

Running Time: 1 hour 33 minutes

About the film: “Creeping Death”, “Ride the Lightning”, “Master of Puppets”, “Battery” and “Enter Sandman” are just some of the major hits that iconic rock band Metallica perform in this concert film, which blends the thrill of music with the fun of a cinematic storyline. In this, American actor Dane DeHaan plays Trip, who is on a mission to retrieve an item and deliver Metallica’s cargo. His journey enters a fantastical realm when his vehicle is hit, and he finds himself escaping a death-dealing horseman. Through his journey, Metallica kept belting out their hits.

Image credit: Carole Segal – © 2013 – Picturehouse Entertainment/IMDb

Artist: U2

Director: Phil Joanou

Worldwide gross: USD 8.6 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 39 minutes

About the film: The concert film covers the 1987 North American leg of the tour of Irish rock band U2, which they launched alongside their album, The Joshua Tree. The film shows the four members of the band, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr., as they visit sites of musical significance, such as Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, and Elvis Presley’s Graceland home. Guests such as blues guitarist B.B. King and a gospel choir also appear as they join U2 in the creation of songs.

Image credit: IMDb

Artist: BTS

Worldwide gross: USD 10.1 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 52 minutes

About the film: Filmed on 25 and 26 August 2018, the concert film by BTS is about their performance during the Love Yourself Tour at Seoul Olympic Stadium. Its distributor, Pathé Live, called it the “widest worldwide release ever” for event content shown in cinemas as it was released in 3,800 cinemas in 95 countries on 26 January 2019.

Artist: Madonna

Director: Alek Keshishian

Worldwide gross: USD 15 million

Running Time: 2 hours

About the film: Madonna: Truth or Dare is slightly different from other traditional concert films. In that, it is more like a documentary about the iconic artist during her infamous Blond Ambition World Tour through Japan and North America. Instead of the performances, Keshishian put the lens on the backstage life of Madonna and her interactions with her dancers and crew. Her then-boyfriend Warren Beatty as well as her family and friends also appear. Only the performances were filmed in colour, while the rest were edited to black-and-white.

Image credit: IMDb

Artist: Glee cast members

Director: Kevin Tancharoen and Jennifer Arnold

Worldwide gross: USD 18.6 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 24 minutes

About the film: The highest-grossing concert film based on a television show, Glee: The 3D Concert Movie features cast members of Glee (2009–2015). The cast members were filmed on 16-17 June 2011 during the East Rutherford, New Jersey, leg of their Glee Live! In Concert! tour. In addition to song performances, the film includes the life stories of Glee fans.

Image credit: Adam Rose – © 2011 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Not for sale or duplication./IMDb

Artist: BTS

Director: Park Jun-soo

Worldwide gross: USD 20.3 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 24 minutes 

About the film: The South Korean concert film revolves around the 2017 The Wings Tour by BTS. Besides song performances, it features behind-the-scenes footage, award show highlights, and interviews with all seven members of the acclaimed boy band.

Artist: U2

Directors: Catherine Owens and Mark Pellington

Worldwide gross: USD 22.7 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 25 minutes

About the film: The concert production was so named because of the use of 3D cameras for filming. Some reports suggest that it was the highest number of cameras ever used for a single project. The filming was carried out at seven different shows across South America during the band’s Vertigo Tour, which was in support of the band’s album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004). As such, some of its 14 songs were from the album.

Artist: Jonas Brothers

Director: Bruce Hendricks

Worldwide gross: USD 23.1

Running time: 1 hour and 16 minutes

About the film: The concert film sees the Jonas Brothers, Kevin, Joe and Nick perform during their Burning Up Tour in 2008. Like the U2 concert film, this movie was shot in 3D as well. Besides performances, it is a documentary of the three brothers and features behind-the-scenes footage of their lives on the road. Its most notable aspect? Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift perform as guests.

Image credit: Frank Masi,SMPSP/© Disney Enterprises, Inc. All Rights Reserved./IMDb

Artist: Beyoncé

Director: Beyoncé

Worldwide gross: USD 27.4 million

Running Time: 2 hours and 49 minutes

About the film: The film documents Beyoncé’s massively popular Renaissance World Tour, which was in support of her seventh studio album Renaissance (2022). Beyoncé is credited as the writer, director and producer of the film. Commenting on the film, The New York Times (NYT) said that “she has created some of the past decade’s most memorable cinematic musical experiences and should be considered an auteur — in terms of both this film and her career.” It is important to note that this film was released on 1 December 2023, which means that it is expected to gross way more than it has already in the opening weekend.

Artist: BTS

Director: Oh Yoon-dong

Worldwide gross: USD 29.3 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 44 minutes

About the film: Alongside “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “IDOL,” this movie sees BTS belting out their song “Run BTS” from the group’s album Proof (2022) for the first time at a concert. Filming was done at BTS’ performance in Busan. The concert was free of charge and held at Asiad Main Stadium in October 2022 in support of the South Korean port city’s bid to host the 2030 World Expo. All of the group’s seven members — RM, Jin, SUGA, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook — performed at the event, which was attended by over 50,000 in-person guests.

Artist: BTS

Director: Ha Jung-jae

Worldwide gross: USD 32.6 million

Running Time: 3 hours and 15 minutes

About the film: In 2022, BTS held their first domestic live shows in three years because of the halt brought in by the COVID-19 pandemic. Permission to Dance on Stage was the name of the show. Being held in Seoul, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, the Seoul leg took place on 10, 12 and 13 March. The 12 March show was filmed for a global live-viewing event in theatres.

Seoul: Live Viewing is the highest-grossing concert movie of BTS to date. Its over three-hour-long runtime makes it the longest concert film of all.

Artist: Katy Perry

Director: Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz

Worldwide gross: USD 32.7 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 33 minutes

About the film: The concert film follows Katy Perry on her 2011-12 California Dreams Tour across the world. The title also refers to a hit song by Perry. Alongside the performances featured, the film also takes a look at her career and life.

Image credit: © 2012 – Paramount Pictures/IMDb

Artist: One Direction

Director: Morgan Spurlock

Worldwide gross: USD 68.5 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 32 minutes

About the film: One Direction’s performance at London’s famed O2 Arena during their Take Me Home Tour and their lives on the road are seen in this 3D film. All of its core members,  Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson and Zayn Malik, appear in the film. It was released between their albums Take Me Home (2012) and Midnight Memories (2013). To date, this is the highest-grossing concert film by a group.

Image credit: Christie Goodwin – © 2013 TriStar Pictures. All Rights Reserved./IMDb

Artist: Miley Cyrus

Director: Bruce Hendricks

Worldwide gross: USD 70.6 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 14 minutes

About the film: The concert film shows Miley Cyrus performing as herself and in-character as Hannah Montana from the eponymous series that turned her into a star. She was only 15 years old at the time of the release of this movie. Jonas Brothers, choreographer Kenny Ortega and Miley’s father — the 1990s country star Billy Ray Cyrus — also appear.

Best of Both Worlds Concert was the highest-grossing concert film by a female artist until Taylor Swift surpassed it in 2023.

Image credit: IMDb

Artist: Justin Bieber

Director: Jon M. Chu

Worldwide gross: USD 99 million

Running Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes

About the film: In 2010, a then 16-year-old Justin Bieber was about to enthral crowds at his biggest show ever at the time, which was to be held at Madison Square Garden. This concert film follows the Canadian pop artist for 10 days, leading up to the event night. Parts of Bieber’s personal life, his friends, family members and interviews with those who know him are featured. Performances also include those by Miley Cyrus, Sean Kingston and Boyz II Men.

Image credit: © 2011 – Paramount Pictures

Artist: Taylor Swift

Director: Sam Wrench

Worldwide gross: USD 249.5 million

Running Time: 2 hours and 49 minutes

About the film: Filmed in August 2023 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, during Swift’s first three shows as part of The Eras Tour, this is the highest-grossing concert film of all time. It is important to note that like Beyoncé’s film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, is still running.

The film shows the outstanding spectacle that a Swift concert is, the enthusiasm of her legions of devoted fans called Swifties, and the dynamics of her singing. To keep the film below a three-hour runtime, some songs that were performed at the concert were edited out of the cinematic version. Critics have hailed the film as a cultural phenomenon that perfectly captures the immense significance of Swift, who was named the most-streamed artist of 2023 by Spotify.