Jason Blum shifts The Exorcist: Believer release after Taylor Swift Eras Tour movie announced for same day

Horror mega-producer Jason Blum has altered the date of his latest release, The Exorcist: Believer, to avoid competing with Taylor Swift’s forthcoming concert film.

The singer announced Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour movie on Thursday (31 August), which is set to be released on 13 October.

The release clashes with the sixth instalment in The Exorcist franchise, which serves as a direct sequel to the acclaimed 1973 original.

Following Swift’s announcement, Blum took to X/Twitter to share that The Exorcist: Believer’s release date had been moved forward a week.

“Look what you made me do. The Exorcist: Believer moves to 10/6/23 #TaylorWins,” the Blumhouse Productions CEO wrote, referencing Swift’s 2017 hit, “Look What You Made Me Do”.

Hours earlier, Blum had tweeted “#Exorswift” poking fun at the recent portmanteau combining the Barbie and Oppenheimer films to make “Barbenheimer”.

The Exorcist: Believer stars Leslie Odom Jr, Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum and Ellen Burstyn who reprises her role as Chris MacNeil, the mother of Linda Blair’s Regan, who was possessed in William Friedkin’s 1973 original.

The film, written by Peter Sattler and David Gordon Green was due to arrive on The Exorcist’s 50th anniversary.

Believer follows two young girls who are found three days after going missing, and then start to display evidence that they have been possessed.

Meanwhile, Deadline reports that ticket presales for Swift’s concert film surpassed $10m (£7.9m) in the immediate hours after its announcement.

“The Eras Tour has been the most meaningful, electric experience of my life so far and I’m overjoyed to tell you that it’ll be coming to the big screen soon,” Swift posted on her social media, alongside a trailer for the film on Thursday.

“Starting Oct 13th you’ll be able to experience the concert film in theaters in North America! Tickets are on sale now at amctheatres.com. Eras attire, friendship bracelets, singing and dancing encouraged… 1, 2, 3 LGB!!!! (iykyk).”

Swift is currently partway through her global Eras Tour, her first tour since 2018.

According to touring industry trade publication Pollstar, the first 22 dates of the Eras Tour brought in more than $300m (£235.4), with the full run expected to gross a staggering $1.4bn (£1.1bn) through ticket sales, merchandise and other revenue streams.