‘The Exorcist: Believer’ Secures Box Office Leadership with $27.2 Million Debut

“The Exorcist: Believer” successfully vanquished its rivals at the box office, although the financial outcome wasn’t entirely groundbreaking.

In the absence of significant new competitors, this latest installment in the long-running series centered on demonic themes garnered $27.2 million in its opening weekend in North America, according to figures released on Sunday by Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions.

While the film’s earnings exceeded the combined weekend revenue of the three subsequent top-grossing films, it only partially recouped its reported production budget of $30 million. This comes after Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions acquired the trilogy rights in 2021 for an imposing sum of $400 million.

The previous weekend’s frontrunner, “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” trailed in second place, amassing $11.8 million and accruing a total of $38.9 million in domestic earnings over two weekends for Paramount Pictures. Another sequel in the horror genre, “Saw X,” took third place for Lionsgate Films with $8.2 million, having now accumulated $32.6 million after its second weekend.

As Halloween approaches, four of the top 10 films in the box office are in the horror genre, hinting at potentially enduring appeal. Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst for Comscore, commented, “The insatiable appetite of the audience for the horror genre seems ceaseless, and the collective theatrical experience is particularly suited for such films.”

This new iteration of “The Exorcist” was launched nearly 50 years after the release of the iconic original and just two months following the passing of the original film’s director, William Friedkin. The movie was directed by David Gordon Green, who has made a name for himself specializing in legacy sequels, most notably a trilogy of “Halloween” films. The cast includes Leslie Odom Jr. from “Hamilton,” and Lidya Jewett as his 13-year-old daughter.

Critical reception was less than favorable, with the film garnering a meager 23% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. Jake Coyle of The Big Big News provided one of the more positive reviews, awarding the film two out of four stars, praising its leading performances and competent direction but noting its failure to replicate the original’s visceral horror.

To avoid clashing with next weekend’s potentially dominant release, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” the launch date for “The Exorcist: Believer” was advanced by a week. “It was a prudent decision,” observed Dergarabedian, “The Taylor Swift release is expected to monopolize attention.”

Taylor Swift’s upcoming concert film could set the stage for a groundbreaking $100 million weekend and establish new benchmarks in the genre of concert movies. “This is unprecedented on a scale we’ve never seen before,” Dergarabedian added.

Finally, this weekend marked the first time that “Barbie” was ousted from the top 10 at the box office since its release on July 21, after generating over $600 million domestically and more than $1.3 billion worldwide.

The estimated ticket sales for the weekend in U.S. and Canadian theaters, as reported by Comscore, are as follows:

1. “The Exorcist: Believer,” $27.2 million
2. “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” $11.8 million
3. “Saw X,” $8.2 million
4. “The Creator,” $6.1 million
5. “The Blind,” $3.1 million
6. “A Haunting In Venice,” $2.6 million
7. “The Nun II,” $2.1 million
8. “Dumb Money,” $1.8 million
9. “Hocus Pocus” (1993 rerelease), $1.5 million

Final domestic figures will be published on Monday.

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More about The Exorcist: Believer Box Office Opening

• Universal Pictures Official Site
• Blumhouse Productions Official Site
• Rotten Tomatoes Reviews for ‘The Exorcist: Believer’
• Box Office Mojo Weekend Charts
• Comscore Official Website
• Taylor Swift Official Site for ‘The Eras Tour’
• Paramount Pictures Official Site
• Lionsgate Films Official Site
• David Gordon Green IMDb Profile
• The Original ‘Exorcist’ IMDb Page