Taylor Swift movie gets Sterling audiences dancing

STERLING – They show up in sparkling dresses, dancing in front of the screen and singing until they are hoarse.

Movie-goers have been turning out in droves to see “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” at the Sterling Theater since its opening there Friday night, said Lori VanOosten, the downtown theater’s general manager.

“They’re having a blast,” she said.

Sprinkled among other movie showings that include “Hocus Pocus,” “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and other Halloween favorites, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is set to run at the theater for a total of four weeks, a longer stretch than normal.

Van Oosten said the local theater normally shows a movie for two or three weeks. The theater is required to follow strict showing times, which allow it to be onscreen Thursdays through Sundays.

So far the largest crowd was counted on Friday night when 125 people showed up, many dressed in Swift style.

“They are having a great time,” she said of the audiences. “We have a carpeted area down front where they are trading bracelets, singing and dancing.”

Compiled from Swift’s summer shows at Southern California’s SoFi Stadium, the film opened in 3,855 North American locations starting with surprise Thursday evening previews. Those showtimes helped boost its opening day sum to $39 million – the second biggest ever for October, behind “Joker’s” $39.3 million. Internationally, it’s estimated to have earned somewhere between $31 million to $33 million, bringing its global total in the range of $126 million to $130 million.

The film also scored well with both critics and audiences.

VanOosten hopes all the buzz about The Eras Tour translates into more people returning to theaters for a real cinema exeperience.

“I hope this gets people back in to the theater,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.