Beyoncé Cut Songs From Her Renaissance Movie & Fans Are “Sweating”

The Beyhive had an extra reason to be thankful this year when Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé had its world premiere during Thanksgiving weekend. Not only did the milestone bring us that much closer to the concert movie’s theatrical release on Dec. 1, fans got to learn some much-anticipated details.

One point of concern for fans has been the inevitable axing of songs to make her three-hour Renaissance tour show more movie-lengthened. Her film’s run time is two hours and 48 minutes, with behind-the-scenes footage of Beyoncé’s “process” added in, so yes, there were tracks that had to be sacrificed. However, The New York Times’ review offers reassurance that most of the cuts come from the “ballad-heavy prelude,” and beyond that, “nearly every other song” made it in.

Making The Renaissance Cut

With Beyoncé’s penchant for privacy, it’s no surprise that the Renaissance premiere was a closely guarded affair. Attendees had to hand over the cellphones to be stored in special magnetically sealed cases during the movie, according to Rolling Stone. Still, details made their way out. The five axed tracks include “1+1,” “I Care,” “Rather Die Young,” “Love on Top,” and Beyoncé’s “I’m Going Down” cover, Variety reports.

TV personality Kalen Allen was lucky enough to be in the audience, and he shared that the list of cut songs could have been longer. Apparently, we have Beyoncé’s 11-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, to thank for saving some from the chopping block. “Bey wanted to cut some of our favorite songs and Blue was not having it lmao!” he tweeted after the premiere.

Fans Are “Sweating”

No amount of Beyoncé would be too much for the Beyhive. Fans were “sweating” over the idea of their favorite tracks being cut. After Deadline reported that “most” of the Renaissance album and earlier hits like “Partition,” “Drunk in Love,” and “Formation” are part of the movie, a fan responded on X (formerly Twitter), “what renaissance songs got cut i’m SWEATING.”

The idea of cuts had them looking ahead to other ways Beyoncé can potentially share the entirety of her concert. “I hope Beyoncé plans on releasing a live album of the Renaissance Tour especially since she cut songs out of the documentary,” one problem-solving fan tweeted.

Added another, “What I’m getting from out of the Renaissance film details is that there needs to be a director’s cut which needs to be longer...meaning EVERY SONG on the setlist is previewed along with the documentary; boom..OR film first then separate documentary.”

Despite the cuts, fans may be comforted to hear that there’s something special for patient moviegoers. “There is a surprise at the end, during the credits,” Allen tweeted.

Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé hits theaters on Dec. 1.