This Massachusetts cinema doesn’t mind watching Swifties flock to theaters

By Chloe Adams

October 30, 2023

If anybody forgot to bring friendship bracelets to trade with on opening weekend of the “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film, Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Mass. was stocked with more for movie-goers to purchase.

While Swifties have been relishing this next-level movie experience — one that includes popcorn sprinkled with pink glitter at certain screening locations — Beth Gilligan, the independent cinema’s deputy director, said she is pleased the film is drawing in energized crowds after movie theaters suffered repercussions due to COVID-19.

Photo by Chelsee Hevey

“You feel the sense of vitality where things are really popping and very much alive,” said Gilligan.

The pandemic prompted the United States to implement shutdowns over three years ago — a halt that temporarily closed movie theater doors and caused the gross revenue of the domestic box office to plunge by 81.4% in 2020, according to data from Box Office Mojo. As more people continue to turn to streaming, these numbers have not reverted to pre-pandemic levels.                                                                                   

However, Gilligan said this highest grossing concert film of all time has been helping theaters move in the right direction.

“A lot of distributors are realizing they’re leaving money on the table if they are going directly to streaming,” she said. “These films are being made available to us in a way that they weren’t over the past couple of years.”

Gilligan said Swift’s cross-generational appeal has helped more people return to theaters “in a big way” for a unique and special experience.

Chelsee Hevey, a mother from Belchertown, Mass., said the film was “a fantastic time for all ages… Dancing next to a stranger who just starts singing and dancing with you is a moment that will never be forgotten.”

Hevey, who attended both the actual tour and movie twice, said “all experiences were comparable.”

In the lyrics of Taylor Swift herself, “everything has changed” for Swifties who struggled to score concert tickets last year through Ticketmaster.

Fans have been looking to the film in hopes of it being secondary to the singer’s real concert.

“I’m a really big fan of Taylor Swift, but the whole debacle with the tickets was very hard, so I was really excited that she’d be in theaters because it gave me the opportunity to kind of feel like I was actually there,” said Jakob Baur, a Boston University freshman.

Baur, who wore a flannel to the film in reference of Swift's “Evermore” album cover, said this movie is “the next best thing” for Swifties who missed out on the singer’s performances and are still looking to connect with other fans.

Sarah Duncan, the co-founder and vice chair of Emmanuel College’s Swift Society, a group comprised of Swifties who value feminism, said attending the movie instead of the tour has its perks. 

“Being able to sit in the same room with a bunch of other Swifties and not spend $400 is a good alternative,” said Duncan. 

In addition to attending the singer’s real-life tour, Duncan said she was surprised when fans warmly approached her at the movie with similar interactions to the actual concert.

“These two girls came up to me, saw I had bracelets and then asked to trade with me which I thought was really cute,” she said.

Gilligan said the most successful post-pandemic movie theaters are the ones that understand their audiences and forge community connections.

 “Anyone you talk to, whether it’s somebody at the concession stand or somebody who works in the office like me, we all love film,” she said.

Swift was not the only one born in 1989: Coolidge Corner Theatre started serving the community as a nonprofit foundation 34 years ago.

If selling concert posters, printed cups and friendship bracelets is all it takes to spread joy, then Gilligan said she hopes more theaters will continue to engage people just like her cinema has been doing for decades.