The Power of Taylor Swift Compels ‘Exorcist: Believer’ to Move Release Date

Even the paranormal powers of The Exorcist are no match for Taylor Swift and the legion of devoted fans she commands. Following Swift’s announcement of a concert film documenting her blockbuster Eras Tour, set to hit theaters on October 13, The Exorcist: Believer, a sequel to the 1973 original, has fled to another date.

The Universal horror film, originally slated for Friday, October 13, will now debut a week earlier on October 6. Blumhouse head Jason Blum announced the move on social media, writing, “Look what you made me do. The Exorcist: Believer moves to 10/6/23. #TaylorWins.” The Exorcist’s new competition? Sony’s Dumb Money, director Craig Gillespie’s film unpacking the GameStop stock drama of 2021, starring Paul Dano and Seth Rogen.

This shift has already proven to be a prudent one. According to The Hollywood Reporter, ticket presales for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour have hit $26 million after the first day for distributor AMC Theatres, breaking the record for the highest-ever single-day advance ticket sales, which was previously set by Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021 with $16.9 million. AMC has since added showtimes to the theatrical run, which will happen in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Tickets start at $19.89 for adults and $13.13 for children.

As for The Exorcist: Believer, Ellen Burstyn, star of William Friedkin’s Oscar-winning original, is returning as Chris MacNeil, whose life was forever changed when her daughter, Regan, experienced a paranormal event. In the film, set 50 years after that possession, Leslie Odom Jr. plays Victor Fielding, a father who seeks Chris’s help when his daughter experiences a similar haunting. Halloween trilogy director David Gordon Green is helming the follow-up, the first in a planned trilogy. The second installment, The Exorcist: Deceiver, is set for April 18, 2025.