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Earlier this year, Taylor Swift shook up the world of cinema with the movie version of her sprawling Eras Tour. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour quickly went on to rack up $96 million in ticket sales in its opening weekend, and outsold Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon the following week. Last week, Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé was released, capturing the glittering, disco joy of her ‘Renaissance’ stadium tour. The concert film is well and truly back.
READ MORE: How concert films became big business (again)
But Beyoncé and Swift aren’t the only artists putting on high drama shows that are begging for a theatrical release. Below, we’ve rounded up seven tours that we believe should get the Hollywood treatment.
The Weeknd
The Weekend performs during a concert as part of the ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ tour at BBVA Stadium on September 26, 2023 in Monterrey, Mexico CREDIT: Medios y Media/Getty Images
Sure, The Weeknd’s foray into television might not have been the celebrated pivot he probably would have liked, but this summer’s epic ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ stadium tour was an all-out blockbuster smash. Breaking records and incorporating some of the biggest hits of the past decade, the show saw The Weeknd pull influence from Batman and Blade Runner to create a dystopian spectacle that clearly had the big screen in mind.
FFO: Blade Runner, Tim Burton’s Batman
Blink-182
Mark Hoppus and Tom DeLonge perform live on stage with Blink-182. CREDIT: Getty
Blink-182 fans have been hurt before. The classic lineup of the pop-punk trio tried reuniting in 2009 after splitting four-years earlier at the peak of their potential but things quickly fell apart. Last October, Mark Hoppus, Travis Barker and Tom DeLonge announced they would be coming together for a world tour and a new album. Fans understandably had their doubts, but those were quickly squashed with a glorious appearance at Coachella 2023 and brilliant new album ‘One More Time…’. The resulting world tour has been a victory lap that shows no signs of slowing down. Apart from one interview with Zane Lowe, Blink-182 have avoided doing much in the way of press, perhaps saving their story for a feel good coming-of-age movie.
FFO: American Pie, The World’s End
Madonna
Madonna performs during The Celebration Tour at The O2 Arena (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Live Nation)
If we’re talking blockbuster live shows, it’s impossible to ignore Madonna’s ongoing ‘Celebration’ tour. Described as an “artistic journey through four decades, highlighting her unmatched catalogue of music from the past 40-plus years,” it’s so much more than a greatest hits run. With fans from over 70 countries buying tickets for the UK run of the spectacle, according to viagogo – it’s a tour not to be missed. Bouncing between her legacy, her enduring influence and her personal life, it’s the closest fans will get to a biopic after a planned film was scrapped. A story this grand deserves the biggest of screens.
FFO: Rocket Man, Die Another Day
The Rolling Stones
Ronnie Wood, Steve Jordan, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards perform during The Rolling Stones surprise set in celebration of their new album “Hackney Diamonds” at Racket NYC on October 19, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
A classic British institution taking on the world and proving the doubters wrong has been a long-running theme in recent James Bond films but that same, defiant spirit runs through The Rolling Stones new album. ‘Hackney Diamonds’ is the first record of new Stones music in two decades, but the band have lost none of their fire. A live version is on the way, alongside details of a North American tour in 2024 and the promise of more new music. Who wouldn’t want to watch a film about one of the greatest to ever do it?
FFO: No Time To Die, The Expendables
The Last Dinner Party
The Last Dinner Party (Photo by Debbie Hickey/Getty Images)
At the other end of the spectrum we have The Last Dinner Party. The buzzy, London five-piece played their first ever show two years ago to 20 people in an East London pub and now are gearing up to headline the iconic Roundhouse alongside tours in Europe and North America. From what we’ve seen so far, this group are poised to go all the way with debut album ‘Prelude To Ecstasy’ coming in February. They’ve never been shy of ambition, so why not a full-length film to go alongside their rise to superstardom.
FFO: The Breakfast Club, The Rocky Horror Picture Show
SZA
SZA Credit: Sam Keeler
After completing her debut arena tour ‘SOS’ which performs songs from the seven-Grammy nominated album of the same name, SZA’s tour was one for the history books. It’s well documented that the floaty R&B singer loves cinema, naming hit song ‘Kill Bill’ after the famous Tarantino film. SZA’s song ‘Drew Barrymore’ from previous album Ctrl was inspired by Drew’s appearance in late 90’s teen rom-com ‘Never Been Kissed’. SZA consistently explores relatable themes of love, anger, insecurity and feeling like an outcast. She nods to this through the tour’s ocean-themed visuals and this could easily create a movie of Titanic proportions.
FFO: She’s All That, Never Been Kissed, Ten Things I Hate About You, Titanic
The Killers
Brandon Flowers performs live with The Killers. CREDIT: Getty
To go alongside their best-of compilation ‘Rebel Diamonds’, The Killers have announced details of a Greatest Hits tour. And they’ve got plenty of those. However, the typical celebratory might of these shows comes alongside the news that the band might pivot away from huge rock anthems for something more introspective, so who knows when we’ll get another stadium epic from the Las Vegas rockers. Seems like this run of shows will be worth capturing on film.
FFO: Avengers: Endgame, Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi
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