Billie Eilish and James Cameron release 3D concert film shot at Manchester’s Co-op Live

A 3D concert film made by Billie Eilish with Oscar-winning director James Cameron, filmed at Manchester’s Co-op Live, has been released.

Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D), out on 7 May, captures four nights of Eilish’s shows at Co-op Live on the largest world tour of her career so far.

The release follows Manchester’s recent staging of the BRIT Awards and the MOBO Awards.

At the film’s London premiere, Eilish praised the city’s crowds, describing her Manchester fans as “one of my favourite audiences ever… I fricking love Manchester”.

The film, made with Cameron, whose credits include Titanic and Avatar, uses new miniature 3D camera technology to put viewers in the middle of the live show.

“You’re in the crowd. When you’re looking at her from very close up, and there’s the hands and the heads and everybody around you, it makes you feel like you’re there, right?” Cameron said.

He described Eilish’s fans as “a character” in the film. Eilish agreed: “For me, the fans are the most important part of the show to me and as important as me up there. We’re all there together and like you’ve said, they’re the co-star of the movie. It’s equally about them as it is about me.”

An email from Cameron

The project started when Cameron contacted the singer directly. “Little old James Cameron sent me an email literally saying ‘would you be interested in making a movie of your concert in 3D?’” Eilish said. “I had never even considered such a thing, it was such an amazing idea.”

Cameron joked about the physical demands of filming the shows: “I said ‘Billie, if he gets in your way, just mow him down – and she did!’”

As well as the performances, the film includes behind-the-scenes footage of vocal warm-ups and pre-show preparation. Cameron said the format can offer something beyond a live show “because we can get you to places you can’t possibly be, and we also take you behind the scenes with her prepping for the show, doing her vocal warm up, putting on her make up”.

Cameron does not think 3D concert films will become standard, but said the project is “a good reminder that actual performance of music is important”, especially “in an age of AI”, when authenticity can be harder to judge.