Jason Blum is weighing in on the “Antihero” versus “The Exorcist.”
The mega-producer behind Blumhouse films’ “The Exorcist: Believer” told Entertainment Weekly that despite the “amazing” opportunity to open the new franchise installment on Friday, October 13, he eventually “bowed” to Taylor Swift after she announced the surprise “Eras Tour” concert documentary for the same date.
“We had this amazing Friday the 13th in October, which is the single best day to release a scary movie,” Blum said. “Obviously, we moved off that [date] and we bowed our head to Taylor Swift.”
Blum originally tweeted, “Look what you made me do,” citing a Swift lyric, about moving “The Exorcist: Believer” to October 6, one week ahead of schedule. Blum further campaigned for an #ExorSwift double feature in the vein of “Barbenheimer.”
Now, Blum said, “It was too risky to see if ‘Exorswift’ was going to take or not. People will still have the Exorswift opportunity, so maybe we got to have our cake and eat it too.”
He joked, “The one thing that scares me to death is Taylor Swift!”
And “The Exorcist: Believer” isn’t the only film to back away in fear of sharing the October 13 release date with Swift. Bleecker Street changed its date for Meg Ryan’s rom-com “What Happens Later” to November 3, and Sony’s “Dumb Money” will open wide September 29 instead.
Sundance breakout film “The Persian Version” has shifted to October 20, and Hillary Swank-starring “Ordinary Angels” moved to February.
“Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” will launch in thousands of theaters worldwide, capturing Swift’s sold-out concert at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. The film is distributed by AMC but shown at their and all other exhibitors theaters, and will be available in premium formats like IMAX and Dolby Cinema.
Swift’s September 25 presence at the Kansas City Chiefs home game against the Chicago Bears spiked Nielsen ratings and ranked first among women under 49 years old in viewership. Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, whose stadium box Swift sat in, has seen an increase in social media followers and a 400 percent increase in merchandise sales.
