Unlike a typical concert film, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour movie is going above and beyond to recreate the live music experience.
“Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged,” read last week’s announcement. These instructions are appealing to fans who missed out on the live tour—but they also sparked a furious debate about movie theater etiquette.
Should Swifties expect Eras Tour screenings to be as loud as a stadium show? And if they do embrace a more relaxed code of conduct than normal movies, what does this mean for neighboring screenings?
“Idk if amc thought this thru,” joked one fan on TikTok, envisioning a quiet film being interrupted by noisy singing next door. She’s not the only person predicting that Swifties will be a loud and disruptive presence.
@itssmegobviouslyy Honestly tho, idk if amc thought this thru 🤣 #taylorswift #swiftie #swifttok #theerastour #erastour #theerastourconcertfilm #amc #amctheaters ♬ original sound – Octavio Z
@chaoticcutoffs Good luck everybody else i would probably avoid theatres that weekend #taylorswift #amc #erastourconcertfilm #concertfilm ♬ original sound – Octavio Z
Over on the Taylor Swift subreddit, there’s an extensive discussion about how fans should behave. “I think people getting up and singing and dancing… is completely inappropriate for a movie theatre,” reads the top comment.
“It’s not only inconsiderate to the people who want to actually take in and absorb the film, but also the people in the theatre over who are trying to quietly watch a movie and the employees who have to manage it.”
A lot of other Redditors agreed with this take, saying that rowdy audiences are annoying, and movie theater acoustics probably can’t handle raucous singing. Basically: What’s the point of going to see a concert movie if you can’t hear the music?
But some Swifties are still planning to get loud.
Can fans sing and dance during the Eras Tour movie?
The obvious question here is how movie theaters will react to rowdy audiences. Taylor Swift’s announcement said “singing and dancing encouraged,” but random multiplex employees may not get the memo. In the past, at least one screening of Billie Eilish’s concert movie got shut down because fans were too loud.
Even standing up during a screening could be controversial, because that’s totally unacceptable behavior in a normal cinema setting.
Concerned about how to behave during Eras Tour screenings, some Swifties got proactive. They called their local theaters and asked for some guidelines.
@thefolkloretheorist Replying to @TalPal 👹 Is this a concert or not? How loud CAN you be at the Eras tour movie? Let’s ask 3 local theaters what it would take to get thrown out. #swifttok #tstheerastour #erastourmovie #theerastourconcertfilm #taylorswift #greenscreen ♬ original sound – The Folklore Theorist
Taylor Swift TikToker @thefolkloretheorist got different responses from different cinema chains, but overall they were pretty receptive. The general consensus was that singing is okay, but if audiences disrupt other screenings, then they’ll get told to tone it down.
So in response to @thefolkloretheorist’s initial question of “Can you scream like you can in a concert?” the answer is probably no.
Unfortunately, there’s no consensus on Eras Tour etiquette among fans themselves. Some clearly want the full sing-along concert experience, while others want to watch in silence like a normal movie. When the film comes out in October, this is sure to cause some conflicts—not just between fans and theater workers, but between Swifties with clashing opinions on how to behave.
