“Saw X” won’t have much time to relax, as direct competition in the horror genre is arriving next week in the form of David Gordon Green’s “The Exorcist: Believer.” This wasn’t the plan; Universal originally had the sequel set for the spookiest day of the year — Friday the 13th, in October no less. But then something even scarier arrived: “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.” The concert movie’s theatrical release was surprise-announced by AMC Films just a few weeks ago, and Universal Pictures begrudgingly moved “Believer” up a week to avoid getting crushed by the might of T-Swizzle. “Saw X” will probably take a hit in its second weekend, while the “Exorcist” entry will have its debut dampened by the lingering presence of John Kramer.
The good news is that Sony’s “Kraven the Hunter,” which was set for release on October 6, has also had a release date shift — all the way to August 30, 2024. As a superhero movie about a guy with beast powers, it’s loosely in the sci-fi genre and probably would have caused trouble for “The Creator.” With “Kraven” out of the way, Neill Blomkamp’s movie has a shot at making up for a slow opening weekend with a strong second-weekend hold. Reviews for “The Creator” are mixed (67% on Rotty T’s, as of this writing), but the interesting visuals could help to draw in fresh audiences on a less crowded weekend.
Next weekend’s only other new theatrical releases are both from Amazon, and they’re only getting a limited release before moving to Prime Video: Gareth Davis’s psychological sci-fi thriller “Foe,” starring Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan; and Maggie Betts’s legal drama “Burial,” with Jamie Foxx and Tommy Lee Jones.