Mason Poole
A film based on Beyonce‘s smash hit Renaissance World Tour is in advanced talks to distribute directly to AMC Theatres, sources with knowledge of the project told Variety.
Mega-agency CAA held preliminary talks with major studios and streamers two weeks ago, another source added, urging the players to be ready to bid on a project the icon has been developing for years — one that would include elements of her top-grossing 2023 live shows, elements of the long-gestating visual album “Renaissance” and a documentary-style account of making the record and building out the tour (Blue Ivy Carter cameos surely to come). By its end, industry watchers are expecting the Renaissance World Tour to gross close to $560 million in ticket sales.
A spokesperson for AMC Theatres did not respond to multiple requests for comment. CAA had no comment on the matter. A spokesperson for Beyonce could not be reached for comment.
The Beyonce deal follows on the heels of one Taylor Swift brokered for a straightforward concert film based on her widely-attended Eras Tour. The terms are incredibly favorable for Swift, reports have said, who self-financed the project and will take more than half of box receipts. Beyonce will receive the same arrangement, and stands to pocket more than 50% of the worldwide grosses, an insider added. The industry is tracking Swift’s AMC experiment to open north of $100 million in October.
This artist-direct dealmaking on AMC’s part effectively cuts out the company’s longtime partners in the studios, and could have serious repercussions on the future of the theatrical film business.
As with anything Beyonce-related, conditions are subject to change and secrecy permeates every layer of her process. One source familiar with the visual album shoot said her work on a robust package of music videos was completed nearly a year ago, in November 2022. Her fan army the Beyhive and disco trap revelers worldwide have been bewildered that she has not released the visuals, ones that accompany a Grammy-winning album released in July 2022.
Adding intrigue and a dash of confusion to this deal is Netflix, who engaged the singer in a multi-picture deal when they acquired her tremendous Coachella concert film “Homecoming” in 2019. It’s unclear what obligations she has to the streamer, but it’s safe to say no one is telling Beyonce what to do.
In August, Above the Line reported that this particular film had been shot in pseudo-secret by director Nadia Lee Cohen. On Friday, eagle-eyed users on X (formerly Twitter) were abuzz saying that AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron had followed Beyonce on the platform, leading to further speculation.