It's not exactly a huge surprise, but Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour has become the most watched music film in Disney Plus' history, with 4.6 million views in the first three days alone. Over its opening weekend, Disney says that Swifties (and a fair few hate watchers, we imagine) watched 16.2 million hours of the epic concert show.
According to Variety, Disney Plus paid "more than $75 million" for the streaming rights, adding to the $261.7 million theatrical revenues that have already made The Eras Tour the highest-grossing concert film to date.
If you haven't seen the streaming version because you've already been to the movies for it, it's worth tuning in (even if we don't rate among the best Disney Plus movies). There are more songs in the streaming version than in the theatrical release or the digital release, which added Wildest Dreams, The Archer and Long Live; the Disney Plus version also has Cardigan, Death by a Thousand Cuts, Maroon, You Are in Love and I Can See You.
The numbers are incredible for a concert movie (check out these three great concert movies if you're looking for a new one to watch) but as Kasey Moore of What's on Netflix points out, they're not big enough to top the global streaming numbers. It looks like that's one chart that even Taylor can't top.
Taylor Swift vs Netflix: who's winning the streaming wars?
Posting on X/Twitter, Moore pointed out that while Taylor's viewing numbers are impressive, other titles are still getting more views: "For comparison in its first three days last week Damsel had 35.3 million views," Moore explained. "In fact, last week [The Eras Tour] would've sat fifth on the top 10 list alongside the Equalizer 3."
So how does a concert movie considered by many (hello!) as one of the best ever made and with 99% on the Tomatometer get trounced in the streaming stakes by a mediocre movie we said was "a dud" and which has a comparatively woeful 56% from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes?
The explanation is pretty simple. First of all, movies have wider appeal than concert movies. And secondly, Netflix has a lot more eyeballs than Disney Plus. According to Neilsen's 2024 figures, Disney Plus' viewing share among smart TVs and TV connected devices is 1.9% compared to Netflix's 7.8%. That's a lot of TVs and a lot of viewers.
In other words, comparing Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour with Damsel is interesting but pretty much pointless: they're different things, made for different audiences, on different services, and I suspect the viewing numbers for Taylor will continue to climb because the show has re-watchability that the movie lacks. In other words – oh yes – I think for Disney Plus the viewing figures are, and will continue to be, beyond their Wildest Dreams.
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