Beyoncé is following Taylor Swift‘s lead and will release Renaissance on the big screen via AMC Theatres.
The Renaissance World Tour movie — which is likely to include scenes from her live shows, a behind-the-scenes look at making the tour and album as well as her some of her long-awaited visual components — will hit theaters on December 1.
“Be careful what you ask for, ’cause I just might comply,” Beyoncé, 42, wrote via Instagram on Monday, October 1, alongside a trailer for the movie. “The goal for this tour was to create a place where everyone is free,” Beyoncé says in a voiceover. “And no one is judged.
The “Break My Soul” singer’s Renaissance World Tour began in May and has enjoyed a blockbuster run, selling out venues across Europe and the U.S., and is expected to end with box office receipts totaling more than $560 million. Several fans noted via social media that shows in Beyoncé’s hometown, Houston, seemed to be filmed.
Beyoncé previously directed her Homecoming concert film in 2018 as well as visual albums for Lemonade (2016) and Black Is King (2020). Homecoming was the first of her three-film deal with Netflix. It isn’t clear whether the Renaissance movie could eventually hit the streaming platform as part of that deal.
Variety notes that the Texas native is expected to sign a deal much like Swift’s. Since Beyoncé is going through the theater rather than a movie studio, she’ll get a bigger payday — taking home more than 50 percent of the worldwide box office.
Swift’s Eras Tour movie will debut on October 13. Swift is on stage for upwards of three hours during her live shows, but the film’s run time is listed as two hours and 45 minutes.
The Eras Tour movie broke AMC’s single-day U.S. presale records, earning more than $26 million on the first day. The Exorcist: Believer moved to October 6 just to avoid conflicting with the pop star. Swift’s movie could earn over $100 million on opening weekend, easily giving her the biggest opening ever for a concert movie. However, Beyoncé’s Renaissance movie could give Swift a run for her money.
Queen Bey’s tour surpassed the highest-grossing tour for a solo female act, previously set by Madonna in 2009, The New York Times reported, and generated an estimated $4.5 billion for the U.S. economy. It’s estimated that Swift generated about the same economic activity throughout her tour — a fact Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, celebrated on Friday, September 29.
“This is so awesome ! To b able to stimulate the economy is no small feat! @beyonce And ! @taylorswift!” Knowles wrote via Instagram. “Just being young women and being able to say this , is so awesome!!! Proud of them both !”
