Box Office Success
"The Conjuring: Last Rites" has shaken analysts’ expectations with a domestic box office opening of $83 million. Industry analysts had expected the ninth release of the "The Conjuring" universe to earn around $50 million.
Franchise Record
The opening made "Last Rites" the best opening for the franchise, exceeding "The Nun" (53.8 million US dollars) in 2018. It also became the third-highest opening for a horror film, behind "IT" ($123.4 million) and "IT: Chapter Two" ($91 million) from 2017.
Horror Movie Success
Both "IT" and "The Conjuring: Last Rites" were published by Warner Bros. Pictures. Paul Dergarabedian, Senior Media Analyst at Comscore, said, "The Conjuring represents true, pure horror. The true experience of the horror film in a cinema, and that’s why they see this 83 million dollar debut."
Yearly Box Office Performance
"The Conjuring: Last Rite" helped push the 2025 domestic box office to over $1 billion, according to ComScore data. Other high-grossing films this year include Warner Bros.’ "Saw" and "Final Destination: Bloodlines".
Upcoming Horror Movies
Horror sequels will remain prominent in cinemas this autumn, with Universal Pictures releasing "Black Phone 2" on October 17th, followed by "Five Nights at Freddy’s 2" on December 5th. Dergarabedian said, "It’s like the biggest roller coaster in the theme park. It has the longest line because people in the local environment of a cinema want to be afraid."
Other Movie Releases
This weekend also saw the release of Disney’s filmed version of the Broadway smash hit "Hamilton", which ended at $10 million in second place. David A. Gross, who publishes the industry newsletter FranchiseHollywood, wrote that the result for "Hamilton" is "an excellent number" after the success of the musical on the streaming platform Disney+ in 2020 and a decade after its debut on Broadway.
