Swift rocks the box office - again. Why it matters to movie theaters

The success of the singer's 'Release Party' highlights the importance of nontraditional fare as the industry struggles to bring back crowds

- By Samantha Masunaga

Los Angeles Times photo illustration; photographs by CHRISTINA HOUSE Los Angeles Times; MERT ALAS & MARCUS PIGGOTT

Taylor Swift has already conquered the music world and the concert business, so it’s no surprise that she recently reigned supreme over the box office — again.

Swift's latest venture into theaters came in the form of a listening session/fan party of sorts for her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”

The 89-minute movie, titled “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” featured the premiere of the Swift-directed “The Fate of Ophelia” music video, as well as behind-the-scenes footage and commentary from Swift about the inspiration for her new songs.

As expected with anything Swift, the film quickly rocketed to the top of a weekend box office that didn’t have a lot of new big-name releases. The one-weekend-only affair hauled in $34 million in the U.S. and Canada, AMC said Oct. 6. Globally, it made more than $50 million. Paul Thomas Anderson's “One Battle After Another” was the runner-up in its second outing that weekend, grossing about $11 million domestically.

But the lack of competition doesn’t dilute the impact Swift had — and has had — on the box office. Her three-day theatrical total beats opening weekend grosses for other recent, studio films such as the Leonardo DiCaprio-led “One Battle After Another” ($22 million), 22-year sequel “Freakier Friday” reuniting Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis ($28.6 million), and my personal favorite, “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” ($18.1 million).