Beyoncé has announced Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé, a mix of concert video and behind-the-scenes footage from the Renaissance World Tour. Check out the trailer below. The film will be in theaters December 1, via Beyoncé’s own Parkwood Entertainment. Theaters including AMC, Regal, and Cinemark have opened pre-sales.
The movie will be the first Beyoncé video accompaniment to the Renaissance era, following a “cliquebait” clip for “Break My Soul” and a “brand campaign anthem film” for Tiffany & Co. that used “Summer Renaissance.” “Break My Soul” previously got remixes courtesy of Madonna and Honey Dijon, as well as instrumental and a cappella versions.
Beyoncé wrapped up her Renaissance tour in her home city of Houston, Texas, on October 1. Throughout her run, her guest DJs included the likes of Arca and DJ Khaled. Her oldest daughter, Blue Ivy, made regular appearances on the tour, joining in the choreography for “My Power,” “Black Parade,” and “Savage.” She makes an appearance in the trailer, as do Rumi and Sir, plus Jay-Z himself.
“Break My Soul” was nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Dance/Electronic Recording at the 2023 Grammys, winning only the latter. That didn’t stop Beyoncé from taking home four trophies that night, though, bringing her overall career tally up to 32 wins. She broke the record for the most Grammys won by an artist in the award show’s history.
On May 10, Beyoncé brought Renaissance to the stage for the very first time. She kicked off her first tour in four and a half years in Stockholm, Sweden, performing “Break My Soul,” “Virgo’s Groove,” “Cuff It,” and other tracks from the record for the first time across a three-hour set. For her closing performance of “Summer Renaissance,” she rode atop a flying disco horse.
Renaissance is Beyoncé’s seventh album overall and her first solo album since 2016’s Lemonade. It’s the first part of a self-described “three-act project” recorded over the pandemic. Renaissance includes a lengthy list of collaborators and sampled artists. “Break My Soul” alone features a synth line sampled from Robin S.’s classic house hit “Show Me Love,” and a vocal sample of Big Freedia’s “Explode” from the 2014 LP Just Be Free. Beyoncé, The-Dream, and Christopher “Tricky” Stewart produced the track, and co-writers include Adam “BlaqNmilD” Pigott and Jay-Z.
Before the Renaissance World Tour, Beyoncé’s returned to the stage in January when she performed during the grand reveal of Atlantis the Royal, a new luxury resort in Dubai. The hourlong concert was invite-only and featured songs from across her catalog but none from Renaissance.
Between solo projects, Beyoncé worked with JAY-Z on 2018’s Everything Is Love and curated a companion album for Disney’s Lion King reboot with 2019’s The Lion King: The Gift. (She also voiced the character Nala in the Lion King remake.) Along with the latter, Beyoncé developed the visual album Black Is King. In 2019, she released Homecoming: The Live Album and a documentary, both of which detailed her explosive headlining Coachella set. She also took home her first Oscar nomination for “Be Alive” for the biopic King Richard and performed the track at the award ceremony.
Read about Renaissance at No. 1 on “The 50 Best Albums of 2022.”
