Summary
- Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé is a box office success, grossing $21 million during its opening weekend.
- The concert film holds a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has received rave reviews from critics and audiences.
- Beyoncé’s film is compared to Taylor Swift’s concert film, but both artists show support and encouragement for each other’s projects.
Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé was a box office success during its opening weekend. The film is expected to close Sunday with $21 million at the domestic box office, per Variety. Written, directed, and produced by Beyoncé, the documentary concert film provides an in-depth look at the development and execution of the Renaissance World Tour, the musical icon’s ninth and now highest-grossing tour. Opening weekend sales for Renaissance, which premiered December 1, put Beyoncé in excellent company as she joins the likes of renowned musicians like Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Madonna, U2, Michael Jackson, and Justin Bieber, whose concert films have earned big at the box office.
Besides making waves at the box office, a notable accomplishment given that the weekend following Thanksgiving is a slow time for theaters, the concert film is impressing viewers. Renaissance currently holds a perfect rating on Rotten Tomatoes, earning rave reviews from critics and general audiences (given Beyoncé’s loyal fan base – that’s to be expected). The New York Times says the film is “an effective humanizing of a naturally withholding star,” while Rolling Stone calls it a “superhero epic.”
The foreign sci-fi film Godzilla Minus One also fared well during its opening weekend, grossing $11 million and coming in third at the domestic box office. John Woo’s Silent Night, starring Joel Kinnaman, and the biblical thriller The Shift also premiered post-Thanksgiving, bringing in $3 million and $4.2 million, respectively.
Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé Follows the Success of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour
AMC Theaters reports that Renaissance marks the first time in two decades that a film opened to more than $20 million on the weekend following Thanksgiving (following 2003’s The Last Samurai).
“This is an excellent domestic opening for a concert film,” says David A. Gross, who heads the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “There are natural comparisons to Taylor Swift’s recent film, but these are very different artists and audiences.”
Given the closeness in the films’ releases and Swift and Beyoncé levels of superstardom and loyal fan bases, it is natural to compare both films. In terms of earnings, Swift is far and away the winner; Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour debuted with $92.8 million and has now accumulated over $250 million globally. However, it’s worth mentioning that Renaissance, which is distributed by AMC Theaters, opened in over 1000 fewer theaters than The Eras Tour.
That comparison doesn’t seem to faze Swift and Beyoncé, who have been encouraging of each other’s projects; Beyoncé was in attendance for the October premiere of The Eras Tour film and Swift attended Thursday’s London premiere of Renaissance. Blake Lively (who was at the London event) made note of the support between the two superstars through a social media post. She captioned a carousel of pictures from the Renaissance premiere:
“When I grew up, women were always pit against one another. It took me until adulthood to see that the instinct for women to lift each other up to their highest potential is the norm not the exception. Most of my best friends are women who would’ve been packaged to me as threats or competition. It’s our job to show younger generations the power in aligning rather than dividing.” She jokingly added: “All this to say, @beyonce and @taylorswift neither of you have to be threatened by my pop stardom. There’s space for us all.”
Beyoncé has remained a mighty name in music for decades, first becoming well-known in the late 1990s as the lead singer of Destiny’s Child (which disbanded in 2006). In June 2003, Beyoncé’s debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, was released, marking the beginning of a remarkable solo career.
Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé is currently in theaters.
