Taylor Swift made a significant impact on the box office over the recent weekend with her special cinematic event, “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.” The film achieved an estimated domestic haul of $33 million, topping the U.S. charts. This impressive performance was particularly notable given that the 89-minute movie, essentially an extended trailer for her new LP, “The Life of a Showgirl,” was a three-day-only event. Globally, including $13 million from overseas ticket sales, “Showgirl” earned a total of $46 million over the weekend, playing on more than 3,700 screens.

The movie, which premiered on Friday to coincide with the release of Swift’s 12th studio album, offers a unique blend of content. It features a mash-up of music videos, including the Swift-directed visual for her single “The Fate of Ophelia,” along with behind-the-scenes footage, lyric videos, and Swift’s personal reflections on her creative process. This strategic release amplified the excitement around her new music.

Swift’s box office triumph overshadowed other major releases. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s MMA drama, “The Smashing Machine,” saw a disappointing opening, bringing in just $6 million from over 3,300 theaters. This marked the worst wide opening for the actor in a dramatic role, despite being touted as potential Oscar bait. Interestingly, audience demographics revealed that nearly 90% of “Showgirl” ticket buyers were female, while “The Smashing Machine” audience was heavily male (over 70%), suggesting different target audiences and little direct competition.

Furthermore, Swift’s film easily surpassed Paul Thomas Anderson’s critically acclaimed “One Battle After Another,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which fell to second place in its second week. “One Battle After Another” saw receipts drop by 49% from its opening week, earning $11.1 million in North America for a 10-day domestic total of $42.8 million and a global total of $101.7 million to date. The success of “The Showgirl” movie, announced just two weeks before its opening with minimal promotion, echoes Swift’s previous cinematic achievement, the 2023 “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” concert film, which set records with a $93.2 million domestic opening and became the top-grossing concert film of all time with $261.6 million in global sales.