NEW YORK – Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Barbenheimer fever are giving a serious boost to the United States economy.

The megastars’ tours and blockbuster films are expected to add up to US$8.5 billion (S$11.5 billion) to US growth in the third quarter, according to Bloomberg Economics.

The nearly 50 US concerts the artistes have scheduled could add US$5.4 billion to US gross domestic product (GDP), while the films Barbie and Oppenheimer are projected to add about US$3.1 billion in consumer spending and exports from international ticket sales.

Taken together, that would raise annualised real personal consumption expenditures and GDP by 0.7 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively, in the July-to-September period, economists Anna Wong and Eliza Winger wrote in a note late on Wednesday. 

The economists nearly doubled their forecast for growth in that quarter, partly as a result of the spending gains.

The projections further support a US economy that has picked up steam in recent months.

Inflation is abating and the labour market remains firm, helping power consumer spending. That is prompting some economists to delay their recession calls, while others are scrapping them altogether.

Still, the Bloomberg team argued that the boost provided by the movies and tours is short-lived.

They noted that neither Beyonce nor Swift is scheduled to hit the stage in the US in the last three months of the year, and described Barbenheimer as a once-in-a-blue-moon event.

Moreover, the US economy is still vulnerable to a drop-off in demand and the housing market is under pressure from low supply and climbing mortgage rates. 

“A large chunk of that strength comes from temporary factors,” the economists wrote. “These factors create a mirage of resilient consumption, when in fact it’s running out of steam.”

They considered ticket sales for Barbie and Oppenheimer only till Wednesday, and did not include net-export effects of the four concerts Swift is performing in Mexico City this week. BLOOMBERG