Watch Billie Eilish and ‘Avatar’ Director James Cameron Vow to Reinvent Concert Films in Preview of ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft’ 3D Movie

Billie Eilish has made a habit of setting records and notching firsts. From being the youngest person to win all four major Grammy awards, to being the youngest Coachella headliners and the first person born this century to win an Oscar (two, actually).

But in the trailer for her upcoming Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) concert film, Eilish predicts that she and co-director James Cameron (Avatar: Fire and Ash) will blaze a new trail with their ambitious take on the traditional tour doc in the movie that opens in theaters on March 20.

The three-minute preview that dropped on Wednesday morning (Dec. 10) opens with a giddy Eilish, 23, staring in wonder down at fans who’ve slept out overnight to be the first ones in line to enter an arena. “This is so crazy,” a smiling Elish says as she takes a pic of the die hards. Soon enough, one of the fans notices her and looks up, prompting Eilish to bang on the window, which unleashes a tsunami of screams from the groggy crowd as other early-risers spring across the parking lot to get in on the rare pre-show avail.

“LOVE YOUUUUUUU!!!” Eilish shouts from the open window.

The 106-show 2024-2025 tour in support of Eilish’s third studio album, Hit Me Hard and Soft, kicked off on Sept. 29, 2024 in Quebec City and played to sold-out arenas (and some stadiums) across North America, Oceania, Europe, Asia and then North America again before winding down on Nov. 23 at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

The trailer features stunning images of the massive gleaming white cube that was the centerpiece of the staging and Instagram-worthy shots of the pryo and special effects that made the tour a must-see for fans. But even Eilish seems a bit star-struck that box office champ Cameron is by her side to chronicle the whole thing.

“That’s James Cameron,” Eilish says of the director whose films have grossed more than $8.7 billion to date as he works with her to set up shots in rehearsals. “No one’s shot a concert film on this scale before,” adds Cameron, who has a legendary thirst for making the biggest, most innovative films possible.

In a preview, we see Eilish wielding a mini-cam to take audience footage, getting shot out of a hole in the stage into the air and giddily promising “it’s gonna be loud” as she chronicles all the scrapes she’s endured on her hands from getting up and close with fans during the gigs.

While the trailer is all energy and excitement, it also slows down halfway through as Eilish breaks into tears reading a sweet note from older brother and lifelong musical collaborator, Finneas, who did not join her for the tour for the first time as he focused on his solo material. “Almost 7 years ago to the day we started your first headlining tour of North America,” it reads. “It’s been the joy of my life to travel the world with you three times over and watch you hold every person who comes to your shows in the palm of your hand. Good luck tonight but you don’t need it, no one does it like you do. Can’t wait to see you soon.”

“It’s gonna be my first show ever without him,” a weepy Eilish says as she reads the letter aloud. Finneas did pop in for some surprise appearances on several stops, including the final one in San Francisco, and we see a sweet moment in the trailer when he comes out and the siblings share a big hug onstage.

Eilish previously hit the screen in 2021’s Disney+ concert special Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles and also starred in the 2021 doc Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry. The 3D trailer for Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) will screen in participating theaters beginning Dec. 18.

Watch the trailer below.