Watching the world premiere of 'Eras Tour' concert movie with Taylor Swift felt like a dance party

LOS ANGELES – There are movie premieres here where the red carpet is the star event.

But this is Taylor's version.

The world premiere of Taylor Swift's "Eras Tour" movie on Wednesday night was all about what was inside a very common AMC movie theater in an outdoor mall that was closed for the day. And Taylor Swift herself, sitting in theater No. 2, seat F8, at the center, next to her tour backup singers and dancers, and actress Julia Garner.

"Hi, so you're stuck with me because I'm going to, like, sit with you and watch this thing," Swift said, dressed in a strapless light blue Oscar de la Renta high-low gown before the movie began. "But before we do that, I want to say thank you for wanting to spend your evening with me. ... I've always had fun doing this. I can't believe music is my career; that's crazy to me. I've always loved it. I've never had a fraction of the amount of fun I've had on the Eras tour before, ever."

The theater was filled with fans – some of whom her team invited via direct message on X, formerly Twitter – and celebrity Swifties including Simu Liu, Maren Morris and Adam Sandler and his wife and two daughters, as well as Swift's own camera crew.

Taylor Swift 'Eras' movie review: Concert film a thrilling revisit of her live spectacle

Swift visited each theater to thank guests before coming to the spot where she would watch her movie.

"I want to say, I have friends in this room, I have my amazing backing vocalists in this room. ... We pranced on that stage grinning because of what met us on the other side and that was you, how much you cared about it. That was absolutely everything," she said. "So, I think you will see that you absolutely are main characters in this film because that's what made the tour magical, that's what made the tour different from anything I've ever done in my life."

She continued: "Your attention to detail, your preparation, your passion, your intensity, you cared so much about these shows and that made all the difference for us. It made us want to add even more shows. I just have never felt this way about anything. I am so proud."

Just before the movie started at 8:30 p.m., she said: "I think I will just watch it with you now. So let's have a blast, guys. Thank you for coming."

Guests ate popcorn out of commemorative Eras Tour tins and Reese's Pieces and Red Vines from a complimentary elaborate candy bar decorated with fresh flowers flown in that morning for the display. An AMC employee stopped by Swift's seat and poured glasses of white wine.

The movie replicated Swift's popular and sold-out concerts, with an intimacy few felt in the stadium tour. The movie was like a close-up and clearer version of a stadium Jumbotron, with details from Swift's ballerina flats to her multicolored fingernails featured.

Moviegoers at the premiere captured the concert feel with sequined jackets, sparkly boots, pastel pouf dresses and friendship bracelets.

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Throughout the movie, Swift bopped her head with the songs, pumped her arms, mimicked her onscreen dance moves and smiled almost nonstop. Watching her was as fun as watching the movie.

It was also a movie where participation felt almost mandatory.

"It's so wild. Watching her is making this so much fun," said Arianna Trinidad, a Swiftie from Phoenix who attended the world premiere of the concert tour, and was at the theater for the movie's world premiere. "I can't believe I'm here, two rows behind her. I think we're both having the same amount of fun."

As the screen showed "Look What You Made Me Do" from the "Reputation" era, Sandler - sitting just behind Swift in his trademark Hawaiian polo shirt – bounced in his chair and clapped, one of Swift's vocalists held her hands up in the shape of a heart, and Swift vibed to the beat.

Before the movie began, Swift took photos with fans and made a video with Beyoncé in an empty theater. She posted on her Instagram: "She's been a guiding light throughout my career and the fact that she showed up tonight was like an actual fairytale."

It was unclear if Beyoncé, who opens her own movie "Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé" with AMC in December, stayed to watch the movie. She was not in the theater with Swift.

While Swift's appearance at the movie was expected, most people in theater No. 2 hadn't expected to watch the movie with her. Their eyes gazed from the screen to Swift, while they joined her in singing everything from "Cruel Summer" to "Midnight Rain."

By the end of the two-hour and 48 minute movie, the crowd was standing and dancing to its final song, "Karma." Swift took selfies – with a flash – with her dancers, singers and Garner.

The credits included cute outtakes from the tour – and some names spelled out in friendship bracelet style. After the movie, Swift took photos with fans and posed while Sandler snapped a photo of her with his daughters before she slipped out a door at the back of the theater.

The movie was scheduled to open on Friday. But after selling more than $100 million in presale tickets and leaving many people waiting in online queues to buy movie tickets, it now will open on Thursday.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Taylor Swift movie premiere was an Eras Tour party: Inside AMC theater