The pop sensation has teamed up with James Cameron to bring the palpable energy and musical mastery of her live shows to life in Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D).
The concert film has long been a beloved genre in film. A window into iconic moments in music history, and the dedication and drive behind making them a reality, they connect the masses with the artist they love most.
The list of names to undertake such a project is star-studded. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé was the 2023 film that offered insight into the megastar’s recent sold-out world tour. Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz documents The Band’s final performances together, accompanied by musical legends Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton and Joni Mitchell. Taylor Swift, The Beatles and Queen have also released tour films, spotlighting some of their most famed live shows. But in 2026, there’s one artist who is taking the concert film genre by storm and deciding to do things differently in the process: Billie Eilish.
The 24-year-old pop star embarked on Hit Me Hard And Soft: The Tour in 2024, setting out to complete over 100 performances of her album of the same name, breaking venue records in Prague and Sydney along the way – held by Justin Timberlake and Metallica previously. Pop artist of the moment Charli XCX even joined her for a performance of their collaborative effort Guess.
It’s one of the most celebrated tours in recent history, with Billie at the very peak of the zeitgeist due to her unfiltered dialogue with fans, caring attitude towards each crowd, and dazzling vocal performances.
So, it was no surprise when the announcement of Eilish’s tour film came about. It’s in keeping with her previous tours, which produced concert films Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles andBillie Eilish: Live at the O2. But, everything that’s followed has been far from the usual play-by-play of a concert film.
@BILLIEEILISH
When James Cameron first said, ‘I want you to co-direct this, I want this to be more you than me,’ that was really surprising and really special
BILLIE EILISH
The first innovative component of the project is the inclusion of the second-highest-grossing director of all time, James Cameron. While his career has mostly focused on Hollywood blockbusters – Cameron is the mind behind the Avatar franchise,Titanic and The Terminator, to name a few films – he approached Eilish for his first-ever foray into concert films.
After Cameron emailed Eilish’s mother to raise the idea, the project was set in motion. “I had such respect for you as an artist”, he told Billie during a Rolling Stones UK interview. Inspired by her idol Justin Bieber’s concert films, Justin Bieber’s Believe and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never, and an unwavering admiration for one of the world’s most revered filmmakers, it was an easy yes for Eilish, who used her Manchester stop on the tour as the focus of the film.
Another first-of-its-kind addition to the project is Eilish’s title. The singer joins Cameron not only as the star of the film, but also a co-director on the project, marking her directorial debut in film. “When James first said, ‘I want you to co-direct this, I want this to be more you than even me,’ that was really surprising and really special. To be a young woman and to have that said to you from someone like [James] was pretty amazing,” she told Letterboxd.
This meeting of two creative visionaries is further brought to life with the immersive addition of a 3D component – a format that Cameron often works in. There are only a handful of concert films released in 3D that have come before this one. Eilish now joins Metallica, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and One Direction in this achievement.
It’s not just the first-time nature of the film that’s helped redefine what a concert film looks like in 2026. The tour’s ethos hit all the right notes, too. As highlighted by Eilish on her Instagram during Earth Week 2026, the tour raised $13.3 million for climate action and community organizations via the Global Changemaker Ticket Program. It’s proof enough that going green doesn’t mean having to compromise on a show’s ability to dominate pop culture.
Cameron summarizes the film best when speaking to Eilish at the beginning of the project’s trailer. “It’s your show, it’s your creative vision. This is going to blow people’s minds.”
Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) releases today.
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