Taylor Swift Drops “The Fate of Ophelia” Music Video + Album Launch Pic Tops Box Office

With glitter, glamor, and tons of feathers, Taylor Swift heralded the launch of her twelfth album “The Life of a Showgirl” with the premiere of the music video for “The Fate of Ophelia” – her first single from the album. The weekend was truly a Taylor-vaganza: not only did the much awaited album finally drop, Showgirl’s launch film in theaters also swiftly topped the box office with an impressive number. Read more below!

Released on Sunday, The Fate of Ophelia’s music video stays true to the vibrant showgirl-inspired aesthetic of the whole album. The MV also takes advantage of the song’s Shakespeare play namesake by setting the entire video in a theater, with Taylor cycling through a variety of dramatic costumes – from a recreation of Ophelia’s famous drowning scene from Hamlet, a bejeweled dancer in a big Old Hollywood-style musical number, to the feathery glory of a Vegas showgirl. The entire video is a visual treat which unabashedly embraces “more is more” sensibility, a major departure from the singer’s understated last album, “The Tortured Poets Department”. Underscoring the huge excitement over the launch, the video racked in over 10 million views within 24 hours of release. 

The music video itself first debuted on the theatrical album launch pic “Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl”, which began screening the same time as the album on Friday. The film ended up lighting up the box office as well, raking in $33 million over the weekend – an unprecedented result for an album launch event. That’s the Swifties for you!

With the album also shattering this year’s first-day sales record as well as Spotify’s first-day streaming numbers, the sky’s the limit for “The Life of a Showgirl”. Be it on theaters, streaming, or music charts, Taylor keeps proving that she’s the undisputed queen of entertainment that manages to “keep it 100” wherever she lands.