Taylor Swift Set to Make Dwayne Johnson Tap Out at the Box Office With Life of a Showgirl
Taylor Swift storms back into theaters with The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, a three-day cinematic spin on her 12th album that’s already on track to outpace blockbuster opening numbers.
Taylor Swift just turned her 12th album into a movie night, because of course she did. And in a very Swift twist, her three-day theatrical party is currently tracking to out-open Dwayne Johnson’s new biopic the same weekend. Yes, that weekend.
What Swift is bringing to theaters
The event is called 'The Official Release Party of a Showgirl' and it celebrates her 12th studio album, 'The Life of a Showgirl'. It runs for three days only, Oct 3-5, 2025, and leans into the whole everything-is-an-event strategy she’s perfected.
- World premiere of the 'The Fate of Ophelia' music video
- Behind-the-scenes footage tied to the album
- Lyric videos on the big screen
- Tickets go on sale at 12:12 local time for $12, because 12th album. It’s peak Swift numerology.
The box office math (aka the part studios obsess over)
Early tracking has Swift’s limited engagement pulling in $25–35 million over its Oct 3-5 window. Meanwhile, 'The Smashing Machine' — the A24 biopic with Dwayne Johnson playing MMA legend Mark Kerr — is currently aiming for $12–14 million that same weekend, according to the trades.
Here’s the inside baseball: 'The Smashing Machine' planted its release date months ago. Swift’s theater party? Announced only two weeks back. So Johnson’s film suddenly has a very loud neighbor. If the Swift plan had been public earlier, you could absolutely imagine someone trying to nudge a date somewhere.
Different crowds, same weekend
The two aren’t chasing the exact same audience. Swift’s draw skews younger and female — and massively mobilized. 'The Smashing Machine' is built for cinephiles (it’s A24) and MMA fans who know Kerr’s story. But even when lanes don’t overlap perfectly, a phenomenon is a phenomenon.
Why Swift has the edge right now
This isn’t just one thing; it’s the full Swift machine. She’s coming off the record-eating Eras Tour, she turns every rollout into an event with clockwork precision, and she’s currently riding a wave of attention around her personal life — including a very recent engagement announcement — that only amplifies the album’s visibility. Add in the 12:12-for-$12 ticket gimmick, and it’s classic Swift: a pop launch engineered like a blockbuster.
The bottom line
Both titles land the same weekend. One is a buzzy A24 biopic with a movie star swinging at awards potential. The other is Taylor Swift turning a release party into a theater-filling ritual. Right now, the numbers say the ritual wins.
So what are you seeing: 'The Official Release Party of a Showgirl' or Johnson’s 'The Smashing Machine'?