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Ticketmaster Canceling Next Taylor Swift Concert Ticket Sale

Ticketmaster tickets and gift cards are shown at a box office in San Jose, Calif., on May 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
Ticketmaster tickets and gift cards are shown at a box office in San Jose, Calif., on May 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
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Ticketmaster Canceling Next Taylor Swift Concert Ticket Sale

Ticketmaster tickets and gift cards are shown at a box office in San Jose, Calif., on May 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
Ticketmaster tickets and gift cards are shown at a box office in San Jose, Calif., on May 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)

Ticketmaster says it is canceling Friday’s planned general public sale for Taylor Swift’s upcoming stadium tour because it doesn’t have enough tickets.

The decision came two days after a presale event caused the site to crash and left many fans without tickets. The ticketing company said in a statement Thursday two million tickets to The Eras tour next year were sold during presales on Tuesday, the most tickets ever sold on the platform in a single day.

Ticketmaster cited “extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand” as a reason for calling off Friday’s sale.

Questions remain about how remaining tickets — and how many — would be sold. But Ticketmaster said about 1.5 million fans who had gone through an early verification process — called Verified Fan — were invited to purchase tickets and the remaining 2 million were placed on a waiting list.

A company representative said Ticketmaster is not involved in ticket resales for Swift’s shows, The Associated Press said.

It’s been a record year for Swift after releasing her latest album “Midnights,” which also broke a Billboard record.

The 52-date Eras Tour kicks off March 17 in Glendale, Arizona, and wraps up with five shows in Los Angeles ending Aug. 9. International dates will be announced as well. It’s Swift’s first tour since 2018.

But fans and families around the country battled it out with long queues and error messages to try to race to the checkout cart.

Ticketmaster said that the site was overwhelmed both by real people and bot attacks resulting in unprecedented traffic on their site. The statement said about 15 percent of interactions with the site had problems, including errors that caused people to lose tickets after they had waited in an online queue.

“While it’s impossible for everyone to get tickets to these shows, we know we can do more to improve the experience and that’s what we’re focused on,” the company statement said.

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How Lewis Hamilton and Apple Brought F1 Racing to the Movie Screen 

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari waves to the crowd on the drivers parade prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on June 15, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec. (Getty Images/AFP)
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari waves to the crowd on the drivers parade prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on June 15, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec. (Getty Images/AFP)
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How Lewis Hamilton and Apple Brought F1 Racing to the Movie Screen 

Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari waves to the crowd on the drivers parade prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on June 15, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec. (Getty Images/AFP)
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Scuderia Ferrari waves to the crowd on the drivers parade prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Canada at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve on June 15, 2025 in Montreal, Quebec. (Getty Images/AFP)

Racing legend Lewis Hamilton, a producer on an upcoming movie starring Brad Pitt as a fictional Formula 1 driver, wanted the film to show the reality of what it looks, feels and sounds like to speed around a track at 200 miles per hour.

To avoid having Apple's "F1 The Movie" seem "faked" by Hollywood, Hamilton provided input on details such as when drivers should brake or shift gears. The film will be released in theaters by Warner Bros on June 27.

"I really wanted to make sure the authenticity was there, and it worked for both the younger and the older audience, and then making sure that the racing was true to what it is," Hamilton said in an interview with Reuters Television.

"All the other drivers, all the teams, are relying on me to make sure that it does," the seven-time world champion added.

In the movie, Pitt plays a driver who comes out of retirement to mentor a young hotshot portrayed by Damson Idris. Co-stars include Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon.

Portions of the film were shot during real-life F1 events in Abu Dhabi, Mexico City and other Grand Prix stops. The filmmakers would shoot on the tracks during short breaks in the races. Pitt and Idris drove themselves in professional race cars at high speeds.

Before filming started, Hamilton said he met with Pitt at a racetrack in Los Angeles so he could size up the actor's driving skills.

"I really wanted to see, can you actually drive?" Hamilton said. A longtime motorcycle rider and racing fan, Pitt showed a baseline ability at that point that made Hamilton comfortable.

"He already had the knack," Hamilton said, which the actor further developed through weeks of intense training. "He really went in deep," Hamilton said.

"F1" was directed by Joseph Kosinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the team that put together the thrilling fighter-jet scenes in 2022 blockbuster film "Top Gun: Maverick."

For "F1," they needed new cameras that would work in race cars, which can be slowed down by extra weight.

Producing partner Apple, which began releasing movies in 2019, was able to help.

The company used some of its iPhone technology to adapt a camera system typically used in real F1 cars during TV broadcasts. The hardware looked like a traditional F1 camera but delivered the high-resolution video that the filmmakers wanted for the big screen.

"This movie was just a great example of putting the whole of the company behind a movie," Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said. "We designed the camera that went into the car to capture the incredible driving experience. It makes you feel like you're actually sitting in the car and experiencing what Brad is experiencing."

Cook said he felt the movie showcased the athleticism required to rise to the elite ranks of F1 driving. Hamilton said he had encouraged more examples of the sport's physical challenges. Drivers can lose five or 10 pounds, he said, from the exertion during a race.

"You have to be able to show that part of it. You're training. You're conditioning your body," Hamilton said. "The car, it beats you up."