The Exorcist: Believer spun heads and drove off all foes at the box office. 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, the AP reports. But while it nearly earned back its reported budget of $30 million in just a few days, the take for The Exorcist: Believer was underwhelming after the two companies paid $400 million in 2021 for the rights to a new trilogy.
Last week's top film, Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, was a distant second, with $11.8 million, and has earned $38.9 million after two weekends for Paramount Pictures. The new Exorcist was released just shy of the 50th anniversary of the original horror classic, and comes two months after the death of the original film's director, William Friedkin. Directed by David Gordon Green, The Exorcist: Believer stars Leslie Odom Jr., with Lidya Jewett as his 13-year-old daughter. The film got poor reviews—managing a critics score of just 23% on Rotten Tomatoes. The weekend finally saw Barbie 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.
Below are estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore and Deadline. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
- The Exorcist: Believer, $27.2 million.
- PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, $11.8 million.
- Saw X, $8.2 million.
- The Creator, $6.1 million.
- The Blind, $3.1 million.
- A Haunting In Venice, $2.6 million.
- The Nun II, $2.1 million.
- Dumb Money, $1.8 million.
- The Equalizer 3, $1.8 million.
- Hocus Pocus (1993 rerelease), $1.5 million.
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