'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' boosting demand for cinema ads, says National CineMedia CEO

By James Rogers

'A lot of brands feel safe being associated' with Taylor Swift, National CineMedia CEO says

The eagerly anticipated "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" is driving huge demand for cinema ads, according to Tom Lesinski, CEO of National CineMedia Inc.

The in-theater advertising company says it has clinched deals with a host of big-name companies for cinema ads tied to the Taylor Swift movie. "There are 32 new deals that we made for advertisers to be part of the Eras tour movie," he said, noting that these include Capital One Financial Corp. (COF), United Airlines Holdings Inc. (UAL), State Farm Insurance, Burger King (QSR) and Mazda Motor Corp. (JP:7261), as well as major companies from the tech, telecom, pharmaceutical, videogaming and retail sectors.

"This will be the biggest October, thanks to Taylor Swift, in National CineMedia history," Lesinski said. "A lot of brands feel safe being associated with [Taylor Swift] -- it's safe, plus impactful."

Related:'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour' movie set to break more records, boding well for AMC and Cinemark

Cinema ads give advertisers valuable access to young people, according to Lesinski. "The cinema has always been a young demographic, it's a coveted one, it's hard to reach," he said. Citing industry data, National CineMedia (NCMI) says that it can reach one out of every two 18- to 34-year-olds.

Underlining the interest in the Taylor Swift movie, Lesinski noted that 12 of the 32 companies buying ads hadn't advertised in theaters since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. "Who knew that there were so many Swifties on Madison Avenue?" he said. "It's a bit of a dream scenario. I wish there was a Taylor Swift movie, or something like it, every month."

Like other companies in the cinema industry, National CineMedia, which is the nation's largest movie-theater advertising network, was hit hard by the pandemic, and it entered chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year. The company announced the successful completion of its financial restructuring process and emerged from bankruptcy in August.

Related: Taylor Swift concert film opened Thursday, surprising many fans -- and disappointing others

Lesinski said that that the success of summer blockbusters "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" were also great news for the cinema industry. "It's kind of our Super Bowl, this happening right now. We have another Super Bowl, hopefully, coming with Beyoncé."

Beyoncé's film concert film, "Renaissance," is set to hit theaters later this year.

National CineMedia's stock rose 1.1% Friday, outpacing the S&P 500's SPX gain of 0.5%.

Related: AMC stock extends winning streak to 5 days, boosted by Taylor Swift concert movie

Taylor Swift's Eras tour firmly established the singer-songwriter as a cultural phenomenon and economic powerhouse, with the effect dubbed "Swiftonomics," and the concert film looks set to break more records. The Hollywood Reporter reports that the movie version of Swift's blockbuster concert tour is set for a global opening of $150 million to $200 million, which would be a record for a concert film.

So fierce has been demand for tickets to the tour film that Swift announced Wednesday in a post on X that one-day early access showings would be offered in the U.S. and Canada, meaning fans could see the movie on Thursday, instead of the original release date of Friday.

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. (AMC), which is showing the movie in its theaters and is also the theatrical distributor, recently announced that the film had shattered the company's record for single-day advance ticket sales, with $26 million in ticket-sales revenue on Aug. 31. Shares of AMC surged last week after the company announced that "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" had brought in more than $100 million in global advance ticket-sales revenue. AMC's stock, which is on a five-day winning streak, fell 3.2% Friday.

Related: AMC's stock surges as Taylor Swift concert movie passes $100 million in advance ticket sales

Cinemark Holdings Inc. (CNK) is also set to get a boost from "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" after clinching a deal with AMC to show the movie. The movie-theater chain is also offering Private Swiftie Parties, where fans can hire a private auditorium to see the film. Cinemark's stock is down 1.8% Friday.

-James Rogers

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10-13-23 1005ET

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