LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� 鈥淭he Exorcist: Believer鈥� drove out all foes at the , but its numbers didn't entirely make heads spin.
Facing competition from no major new releases, the latest resurrection of the demonic franchise brought in $27.2 million in North America in its opening weekend for Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions, according to studio estimates Sunday.
That was more than the weekend take of the next three films combined. But while it nearly earned back its reported budget of $30 million in just a few days, the take for 鈥淭he Exorcist: Believer鈥� was underwhelming after the two companies paid $400 million in 2021 for the rights to a new trilogy.
Last week's top film, 鈥� ,鈥� was a distant second, with $11.8 million, and has earned $38.9 million after two weekends for Paramount Pictures. Another horror sequel, 鈥淪aw X,鈥� was third for Lionsgate Films, with $8.2 million, and has brought in $32.6 million after two weekends.
Horror films made up four of the top 10, and they could see some sustained numbers as Halloween comes closer.
鈥淚t seems like the demand for the horror genre by audiences is never ending,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淭he communal theater experience is tailor-made for it.鈥�
The new 鈥淓xorcist鈥� was released just shy of the 50th anniversary of the original horror classic, and it comes just two months after the death of the original film's director, .
Directed by David Gordon Green, who has become a legacy sequel specialist after , 鈥淭he Exorcist: Believer鈥� stars 鈥淗amilton鈥� actor Leslie Odom Jr., with Lidya Jewett as his 13-year-old daughter.
The film got poor reviews 鈥� managing a critics score of just 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. Jake Coyle of The Associated Press was more charitable than most in his , giving it two stars out of four for its lead performances and sure-handed direction but saying it 鈥渘ever manages anything like the deep terror of the original.鈥�
The release of 鈥淭he Exorcist鈥� was moved up a week to avoid competing with the juggernaut of next weekend's concert film, 鈥淭aylor Swift: The Eras Tour.鈥�
鈥淚 think they made a good call actually,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淎ll the oxygen is going to be sucked out of the room.鈥�
The storm of Swifties in cinemas could make for a $100 million weekend and set several new precedents for concert movies.
"This is on an order of magnitude beyond anything we鈥檝e seen," Dergarabedian said.
The weekend finally saw 鈥淏arbie鈥� fall from the box office top 10 for the first time since its July 21 release, after well over $600 million in domestic earnings and more than $1.3 billion globally.
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Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淭he Exorcist: Believer,鈥� $27.2 million.
2. 鈥淧AW Patrol: The Mighty Movie,鈥� $11.8 million.
3. 鈥淪aw X,鈥� $8.2 million.
4. 鈥淭he Creator,鈥� $6.1 million.
5. 鈥淭he Blind,鈥� $3.1 million.
6. 鈥淎 Haunting In Venice,鈥� $2.6 million.
7. 鈥淭he Nun II,鈥� $2.1 million.
8. 鈥淒umb Money,鈥� $1.8 million.
10. 鈥淗ocus Pocus" (1993 rerelease), $1.5 million.
Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
