MOVIE NEWS – One week earlier than originally planned, “The Exorcist: The Believer” will hit theaters in America, according to Jason Blum, the owner of the production company behind the film. Universal Pictures, the distributor, confirmed the news. The reason for this move is the mid-October release of Taylor Swift’s concert film, which documents her performances so far on the Eras Tour. The pre-sale tickets for the concert film have already generated nearly $30 million, making it unwise to compete with it.

The internet, of course, has latched onto this topic. Memes about Taylor Swift’s “devilish power” and how a theater full of Swift fans is much scarier than any exorcism have begun to circulate. An immediate new term, Exorswift (Exorcist + Swift), was coined as both movies will still end up competing in theaters, despite the one-week difference. Fans of “The Exorcist,” however, are disappointed with the decision, since it would have been fitting to release the movie on Friday the 13th, as originally planned.

“The Exorcist: The Believer” is the start of a new trilogy, directed by David Gordon Green, who also recently successfully rebooted the Halloween franchise. In the new movie, evil possesses two young girls, and their desperate father (Leslie Odom, Jr.) is helped by the original 1973 film’s protagonist, Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), who has experience dealing with demons.

The next installment, “The Exorcist: Believer,” is already in production and is set to be released in theaters in April 2025.

(The Exorcist: Believer – domestic release: October 12, 2023.)