“Conjuring: The Last Rites” has resurrected the box office, collecting a sensational $83 million in its first weekend of release.
That’s a new opening weekend record for Warner Bros. and New Line’s “Conjuring” universe, supplanting the benchmark held by 2018’s spinoff “The Nun” with $53.8 million. Among other achievements, it’s the best start this year for a horror movie (above May’s “Final Destination: Bloodlines” with $51.6 million) and the third-largest in box office history (after two other Warner Bros. titles, “It” with $123 million and “It: Chapter Two” with $91 million).
Heading into the weekend, independent tracking services suggested that “Conjuring: The Last Rites” would debut to $50 million or $60 million. However, pent-up demand to go to the movies (there hasn’t been a new blockbuster in weeks), as well as great word-of-mouth and goodwill toward the franchise sent the ticket sales into the stratosphere. Reviews were mixed, but that rarely makes a difference for the horror genre. Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga reprise their roles paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, who in this entry are trying to vanquish a demon from a family’s home.
Internationally, “Conjuring: The Last Rites” earned $104 million from 66 territories for a remarkable global launch of $187 million. In yet another record, these ticket sales overtook “It: Chapter Two” ($92 million) for the largest overseas debut for a horror film.
Across nine films (spinoffs include “Annabelle” and “The Nun”), the “Conjuring” universe has become the highest-grossing horror franchise in history with a combined $2.3 billion. This installment cost $55 million to produce, which will make for some scary-good profit margins. Michael Chaves, who directed the prior film in the series, returned behind the camera while James Wan, who created the occult-tilted property, and Peter Safran are back as producers.
“Conjuring: The Last Rites” has extended a remarkable streak for Warner Bros. as the seventh consecutive release to open above $40 million this year, a first for any Hollywood studio. After a terrible box office run with “Joker: Folie a Deux,” “Mickey 17,” and “The Alto Knights,” Warner Bros. rebounded with “A Minecraft Movie” followed by “Sinners,” “Final Destination Bloodlines,” “F1: The Movie” (which the studio distributed for Apple), “Superman” and “Weapons.” These outsized wins have taken the pressure off the studio’s next gamble, Paul Thomas Anderson’s $130 million-budgeted “One Battle After Another,” which opens at the end of September.
More to come…
