Taylor Swift fans have voiced their frustration after the extended cut of her Eras Tour concert film arrived on Wednesday — only to be offered as a 48-hour rental at what many have branded an eye-watering price.
The release coincided with the pop superstar’s 34th birthday, with Prime Video making Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Extended Version) available in the UK, the US and Canada to mark the occasion.
Celebrating her 10 studio albums so far, The Eras Tour has been framed by the singer-songwriter as a sweeping trip through each distinct chapter, or “era,” of her career.
The updated concert movie features three additional performances that were not included in the cinema release: Wildest Dreams, The Archer and Long Live.
But the film is currently available only as a rental for a 48-hour window, priced at £15.99 in the UK and $19.89 in the United States and Canada.
Taylor Swift fans have criticised the extended Eras Tour film release after discovering it is limited to a 48-hour rental and comes with a steep fee
Swift marked her 34th birthday on Wednesday as Prime Video launched Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Extended Version) across the UK, US and Canada
Many of Taylor’s supporters have taken aim at the “mental” cost, questioning why the film cannot be purchased outright or included as part of a streaming subscription.
Many lamented that they couldn’t ‘justify’ the fee or afford it, with one saying it would force them to ‘choose between eating for two days and watching a movie’.
Angry fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to slam the decision and complain that they had already spent huge amounts of money on her ‘crazy prices’ to support her.
One person wrote: ‘happy birthday taylor swift or whatever but girl im not giving u $20 for 48 hours of the movie im sorry GIVE US THE OPTION TO BUY’.
Another echoed: ‘I’m sorry but almost $20 to RENT the film is way too much. I would be wanting to buy it for that price. @taylorswift13 you can’t keep raising the prices so it’s nice numbers for you because it’s not worth it for some of us’.
A third added: ‘I throw money at Taylor Swift stuff so often but even I cannot justify $19.89 to rent the Eras Tour movie lol if it was to buy, I would already own it.’
While someone else tweeted: ‘As much as I love Taylor Swift making a movie £15.99 just to rent it is f***ing mental. We are in a cost of living crisis babe.’
A fifth wrote: ‘I love Taylor Swift but $19.89 to rent a movie at home is insane. She could’ve made it $13 if she wanted to be cute with the price. Time to p*rate it.’
However, the movie is only available to rent and just for 48 hours, with it costing £15.99 in the UK and $19.89 in America and Canada
Taylor’s fans have criticised the songwriter for the ‘mental’ price and for only letting people rent the film instead of allowing them to buy it to keep or stream as part of their subscription
Many lamented that they couldn’t ‘justify’ the fee or afford it, with one saying it would force them to ‘choose between eating and watching a movie’ (Brazil fans pictured last month)
And a sixth agreed, saying: ‘Bro I like Taylor swift but you could never catch me spending 20 f***ing dollars to RENT A GODDAMN MOVIE JESUS CHRIST.’
Another disappointed fan said: ‘I’ve paid over £400 to go and see Taylor Swift and stop over night, a further £40 cinema ticket and merch. I love Her and Her music but when will the crazy prices stop? £16 to rent a movie once is ridiculous, that’s making me choose between eating for 2 days and watching a movie.’
While an eighth fumed: ‘taylor swift has lost her mind if she thinks i’m going to pay $20 to rent a movie for 48 hours like actually what planet do you live on’.
A ninth bemoaned: ‘I wish that I could rent it for Taylor Swift’s birthday today, but I can’t do that due to budget restraints’.
And another said: ‘£16 to RENTTTTTT that taylor swift movie is insaneeeeeee’ while one former fan declared: ‘oh $19.89 to RENT and not own… i am DONE with taylor swift’.
It comes after it was estimated that the Eras Tour movie has grossed $250 million worldwide while the tour itself pushed Taylor’s own net worth to $1.1billion in October, according to Forbes.
The film was history making – it generated $26 million in pre-sale tickets alone and broke the single-day ticket sales records in a mere three hours.
The movie has even been nominated for a Golden Globe in a brand new category – the award for Cinematic and Box-Office Achievement.
It will face competition from a slew of other impressive films: Barbie, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, John Wick: Chapter 4, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1, Oppenheimer, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and The Super Mario Bros.
Angry fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to slam the decision and complain that they had already spent huge amounts of money on her ‘crazy prices’ to support her
It comes after it was estimated that the Eras Tour movie has grossed $250 million worldwide while the tour itself pushed Taylor’s own net worth to $1.1billion in October, according to Forbes
The movie has even been nominated for a Golden Globe in a brand new category – the award for Cinematic and Box-Office Achievement
