Cinemas around the world are currently abuzz with a very different type of atmosphere. With audiences encouraged to ditch their seats and take to the aisle to dance, concert films are making a storming comeback: notably, Beyoncé has announced a Renaissance tour film, while Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour movie is turning cinema audiences into something more akin gig crowds.

Concert films aren’t new: one of the most popular films at the moment is the A24 re-release of Talking Heads’ 1984 Stop Making Sense which has grossed over $1 million since it hit cinemas in September. The earliest known concert film, Concert Magic, was released in 1948 and featured violinist Yehudi Menuhin. In the early 1970s, Pink Floyd filmed an hour-long set, sans audience, inside the amphitheatre of Pompeii for their film Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii, which marked a turning point for the genre: as Joe Taysom wrote in Far Out Magazine, “it set a frighteningly high new benchmark”. In recent years, concert films have become a popular way for artists to offer their fans more ‘content’, and fans themselves are lapping it up. Take Justin Bieber’s 2011 film Never Say Never, which raked in $99 million, or Swift’s Eras tour film, which has already become the highest-grossing concert film ever by bringing in a staggering $128 million. 

“I went to the first ever Eras tour date on March 17 in Arizona, and the crowd atmosphere was crazy,” Ellise, a 24-year-old Swift fan tells Dazed. “Everyone dressed up as a different era or wore silly outfits based on different lyrics. Taylor’s gigs rely so much on fan interaction.” Ellise has also seen The Eras Tour film, and in her experience, the sense of community is just as strong in the cinema as it is at an actual gig. “It gives fans another opportunity to connect with her. I know that people have been singing all the words in the cinemas already, there’s still that call and response,” she continues. “It seems to be kind of a replica of the concert experience, in terms of the fan community aspect. I’m excited to relive the show – it’s going to tide me over until I can see the Eras tour again.”

Similarly, for Beyoncé fans, going to a live show doesn’t seem to dispel anticipation for the movie. “I’m so excited for the film,” 26-year-old Chandi tells Dazed. “For me, Renaissance feels more like a cultural movement than just an album, so I can’t wait to experience more.” 

There’s a real sense of spectacle in both the Renaissance and Eras tour, making both instantly suited for film adaptations. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a show like the Renaissance tour,” Chandi says. “She put so much into the show, from her outfits to the visuals and the dancers – so much was going on!” It’s a sentiment echoed by Ellise, who is unsurprised by the success of the Eras tour film. “The production value is honestly like a movie already.”

Both tours came with high price points; the average ticket price for both the Eras tour and the Renaissance was around £150. These high prices were caused in part by demand outstripping supply: the Eras tour sale even led to a congressional hearing about Ticketmaster monopolising the ticketing industry. It’s an understatement to say that these tours were not accessible – and for those who failed to secure tickets or couldn’t afford the hefty prices of the live show, these films seem like a golden ticket. “I hope that seeing a brilliantly filmed performance in a decent cinema for £20 will strongly rival paying £80 or so for bad seats at Wembley,” says Mark, a Swiftie who missed out on Eras tour tickets. “I’d also much prefer the cinema option to paying £300 for good Wembley seats.”

Screenings also provide an ideal solution for fans outside of the able-bodied, young, child-free audiences venues typically cater for. “It makes the tour accessible. Hopefully families with young children who can’t afford over £400 on tickets will take their kids to see this, and the little ones especially won’t particularly care that they’re not seeing it live,” Mark adds.

It’s not just The Eras Tour blowing up at the box office: as aforementioned, the rerelease of Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense has grossed over $1 million so far, despite the band not having toured in almost forty years. “The tour screenings I’d like to see in the future would probably lean more towards archive stuff I could’ve never seen the first time round,” Mark says. This opportunity to travel back in time is another big part of the appeal of concert films for Gen Z, a generation who drove Kate Bush into the charts again and adore Fleetwood Mac. Ellise adds that she’d be keen to see “​​a Joni Mitchell concert film.”

Steven Hanley’s pop-up cinema, Deeper Into Movies, shows a range of concert films – from Lana Del Rey’s 2012 Roundhouse show to deeper 90s cuts – and leans into this desire to recreate the experience of watching live music. “At Lana, we had lots of people crying, people on the stripper pole at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club. At the Nirvana screening, we had people moshing. Then at Jeff Buckley, the audience was totally silent and transfixed,” he says. Their recent Stop Making Sense screenings felt just like a concert, with the crowd encouraged to sing, shout and dance; everyone in the screening was up on their feet, applauding after every song, like you naturally would at a concert. “I think these were the first dance-friendly screenings in the UK since A24 re-released it,” Hanley says.

But not everyone wants their experience in cinemas to be a facsimile of going to a gig – especially when live music audiences seem to be rowdier than ever at the moment. “It’s a Taylor Swift film, so everyone is going to be singing the words and I think that’s to be expected, but at the same time I want to be able to sit and take in the film, I don’t really want to be standing,” Ellise says. “I’m all for people going and dressing up, but a live show is one thing and a film is another – I don’t think I’d love hearing the film audience scream along,” Chandi adds. After all, if one of the biggest benefits to concert films is allowing for less raucous screenings, people screaming over the sound and waving phone torches around arguably ruins the entire experience.

And is any of this for the fans at all? While compared to gig tickets the price point is considerably lower, which allows more fans to witness the show, it’s important to acknowledge that concert films are extremely lucrative for artists. The Eras Tour film has instantly become the highest-grossing concert film of all time – making Swift set to become $100 million richer. Even though the movie undeniably makes witnessing the tour more accessible and affordable, at the end of the day, it’s hard to shake the feeling that it’s just a way for artists to make a quick buck. “Just because Taylor has released an Eras tour film, that’s not going to lessen the demand of people wanting to see her live – it might actually increase it,” Ellise adds. 

Still, audiences seem happy, and these films are continuing to foster a sense of community among fanbases. “I feel like I was there,” says 25-year-old Swift fan Ali, who saw The Eras Tour film after missing out on gig tickets. “It felt like a welcome replacement.” It’s still too soon to say whether ‘tour films’ could be having a fully-fledged renaissance, or if more and more artists will jump on the bandwagon. But while Taylor Swift has people screaming in the cinema, and David Byrne has people up and dancing in their seats, it’s clear the art form is back and open for more artists, young and old, to test out.

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