Taylor Swift has once again proven her star power, but this time she’s done it not just with a chart-topping album, but by dominating the North American box office. Over the weekend of October 3-5, 2025, Swift’s unconventional music film, The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, soared to the number one spot, raking in a staggering $33 million according to industry estimates reported by Comscore and other outlets. The film, which offers an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the making of Swift’s just-released album The Life of a Showgirl, wasn’t your typical concert documentary. Instead, it blended candid footage with the music video for her new single, “The Fate of Ophelia,” creating a unique cinematic experience that clearly resonated with fans.
What’s remarkable is how Swift and her team pulled off this box office coup. The film was announced with little fanfare just weeks before its release, and was only available in theaters for a limited three-day window, running from Friday through Sunday. AMC Theatres, which distributed the film, began showings at 3 p.m. on Friday, with no Thursday previews—a move that didn’t seem to dampen enthusiasm in the slightest. Tickets were generally priced at $12, though premium large format screenings commanded higher prices, accounting for 28% of total sales. The film played on 3,702 screens, averaging a robust $8,914 per screen, according to box office trackers.
Overseas, Swift’s cinematic venture performed better than expected, pulling in $13 million from 3,588 screens across 54 territories, bringing the global opening weekend total to $46 million. AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron expressed his gratitude for Swift’s collaboration, saying, “On behalf of AMC Theatres and the entire theatrical exhibition industry, I extend our sincerest appreciation to the iconic Taylor Swift for bringing her brilliance and magic to movie theatres this weekend. Her vision to add a cinematic element to her incredible album debut was nothing less than a triumph. It was simply a wonderful gift to her passionate and enthusiastic fans, who got to see, on our giant screens, behind-the-scenes footage and insight into The Life of a Showgirl. AMC Theatres is so proud to have collaborated with Taylor. What an honor and privilege and joy it has been for us to once again play a role in her incomparable success.”
Audience response matched the box office numbers: Rotten Tomatoes audience scores hit an impressive 95%, and CinemaScore awarded the film an “A+” grade. The daily breakdown of the film’s earnings reflected strong, sustained interest: $15.8 million on Friday, $10 million on Saturday, and $7.2 million on Sunday. All this, despite the film’s unconventional format and limited run.
But there’s more to the story than just ticket sales. The visual identity of The Life of a Showgirl—from album artwork to the music video for “The Fate of Ophelia”—owes much to New York-based fashion designer Kelsey Randall. Randall, who launched her namesake brand in 2015, had long dreamed of dressing Taylor Swift. That dream became reality this year, as her crystal-laden creations took center stage in both the album visuals and the film’s climactic moments.
Randall recounted to Page Six Style how, in March, Swift’s styling team reached out via Instagram, requesting a specific chainmail dress for a secret project. “I knew it was for Taylor, but they had to keep the theme a complete secret,” Randall said. The original dress, however, was unavailable—it had been stolen during a previous photoshoot. Fate intervened when Swift’s team discovered a similar, custom, unworn piece in Randall’s archive. “It was a very, very similar style to what they had originally wanted,” she explained. The dress, adorned with peridot stones, clear rhinestones, and trimmed with real chandelier crystals, became a focal point of the album’s photoshoot, captured by renowned photographers Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott.
Months later, Randall was asked to create a second dress, this time with a shimmering chainmail fringe inspired by Swift’s iconic Eras Tour outfits. The color palette—iridescent hues of pink, purple, peach, white, and gold—was a nod to the star’s signature stagewear. “We both got really excited about this chainmail fringe—the way it moves and sparkles,” Randall said. The designer and Swift’s stylist obsessed over the details, exchanging rhinestones overnight to perfect the look. With just 13 days to complete the dress before the deadline, Randall enlisted friends and her wife to help, turning the process into what she called a “rhinestone circle.”
The second dress ultimately appeared in both the album’s photo shoot and the finale of the “The Fate of Ophelia” music video, which was shown exclusively in theaters during the film’s limited release. Randall described the moment she saw her work on screen as overwhelming: “The response from friends, family and fans over the past few days has been so overwhelming,” she shared. Seeing her designs alongside those of her idol, Bob Mackie, was the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition. “All I’ve ever wanted to do is be the next Bob Mackie, so having this opportunity to have my work shot alongside his… it’s amazing.”
Swift’s approach was hands-on from the start. “Taylor approves everything from the jump,” Randall said, praising the singer’s styling team for their kindness and dedication. “It’s very rare to have someone advocate for a designer that’s certainly not a household name for an opportunity like this.” The collaboration underscores Swift’s reputation for supporting emerging talent and for her meticulous attention to every aspect of her public image.
While Swift’s film dominated the box office, other new releases had more modest showings. Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another took second place with $11.1 million in its second week, while The Smashing Machine, a biopic starring Dwayne Johnson as MMA fighter Mark Kerr, debuted in third with $6 million. Despite a strong promotional push and the presence of Emily Blunt, The Smashing Machine received mixed reviews and audience reactions, earning a “B-” CinemaScore and a 74% Rotten Tomatoes critical score. The film’s audience skewed heavily male (70%) and young (64% aged 18-34).
Rounding out the top ten were family and genre favorites: Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie ($5.2 million), The Conjuring: Last Rites ($4 million), Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — the Movie Infinity Castle ($3.5 million), a re-release of Avatar: The Way of Water ($3.19 million), The Strangers: Chapter 2 ($2.8 million), Good Boy ($2.2 million), and Kantara A Legend: Chapter 1 ($1.7 million). The overall domestic box office for the weekend reached $82.4 million, up 7.7% from the previous week, though still slightly down compared to the same weekend in 2024.
Swift’s latest project is more than just a box office success—it’s a testament to her creative vision and her ability to connect with fans in new and unexpected ways. By bringing together music, fashion, and film, she’s set a high bar for what it means to be a pop culture icon in 2025.
