A 2022 biographical mystery film featuring a moodyTaylor Swiftsong is now a hit on streaming. The pop superstar conquered the world of cinema when her 2023performance documentaryThe Eras Toursoared at the box office, becoming the highest-grossing concert film of all-time with $261 million in worldwide grosses.
The unstoppable Swift may indeed bring in moviegoers with films of her blockbuster concerts, but her proper acting performances have been notably less successful in boosting ticket sales. The all-starValentine’s Daydid well enough, grossing $216 million, but Swift’s supporting role inThe Giverfailed to supercharge that film’s box office ($67 million), andCatsandAmsterdamwere outright flops ($75.5 million and $31 million respectively). Swift’s presence on a soundtrack may indeed be worth more to a film than her actual on-screen contributions,as demonstrated by a 2022 mystery movie for which she contributed a song.
Swift’s Song Carolina Graces Where The Crawdads Sing, Which Is Now A Hit On Streaming
The Pop Star Wrote The Song Because She Loved The Book
The 2022 movieWhere the Crawdads Singis a hit on streaming three years later, thanks in part to Swift’s song “Carolina.“The massive-selling pop star volunteered her musical services to the Reese Witherspoon-produced mystery before it was even in production, having been a huge fan of the best-selling book upon which it’s based. The resulting track only added to the movie’s box office appeal, helping push it to a gross of $144 million on a budget of $24 million.
The rest ofWhere the Crawdads Sing’s score was composed by Oscar-winner Mychael Danna.
Three years after posting surprisingly strong box office numbers,Where the Crawdads Singand its Swift-penned song are a hit on streaming too, landing at number 9 on Max’s daily chart for May 16(viaFlixpatrol). The film was added to the soon-to-be-renamed streamer’s lineup on May 12.
Our Take On Where The Crawdads Sing Being A Streaming Hit
The Movie Outperformed Expectations When It Released
Perhaps Swift’s participation did bring more attention toWhere the Crawdads Singwhen it released in 2022, but the movie already had a very big built-in audience thanks to the popularity of the original book, penned by naturalist Delia Owens based on her own experiences growing up without a family in the wilds of North Carolina. The book may have been a hit, but critics had few kind words to say about the Olivia Newman-directed movie adaptation, which was derided for being unrealistic. The film’s 5-out-of-10-starScreenRantreview reads in part:
Where the Crawdads Sing will surely appease fans of the book, and on some level, its adherence to the source material is to be commended. It is very clear the filmmaking team respects and appreciates the book. However, that passion doesn’t entirely hide the cracks that emerge when transferring a story from one medium to another.
Book fans didn’t seem to care much what the critics had to say about the film, and helped make it a surprise hit.Where the Crawdads Singgrossed enough to finish number 22 on the 2022 domestic box-office chart, beating the likes ofScream,Everything Everywhere All At OnceandDeath on the Nile. It also boosted the profile of star Daisy Edgar-Jones, who went on to headline the 2024 summer action movieTwisters,alongside fellow young superstar Glen Powell.
It should indeed be no surprise to seeWhere the Crawdads Singperforming strongly on streaming three years after its big box office run. Critics may not be interested in checking it out again,but those who got into its story, either through the book or the movie or both, can sink back into its real-life mystery narrative all over again. Swifties too can check out the film, whose source material received the highest of recommendations from their idol, and whose adaptation features one of her original songs.
