The Exorcist: Believer made a few heads spin with its box-office performance this weekend. The horror movie claimed possession of the No. 1 slot in frightening fashion, earning an estimated $27.2 million in North America.
Sure, that performance isn’t going to scare its 50-year-old forebear just yet: The original Exorcist has clawed up $233 million domestically since its 1973 release. Add to that the fact that Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions spent $400 million for the rights to the Exorcist franchise, and Believer has a lot more work to do before it makes a believer out of its own accountants. But you gotta start somewhere.
Last week’s champ—Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie—got its own paws on nearly $11.8 million, pushing its overall pooch purse to $38.9 million. Paw Patrol’s performance certainly cut into Saw X’s own potential take. As it was, Jigsaw’s latest gruesome adventure grossed about $8.2 million and a third-place bow.
The Creator earned $6.1 million to finish fourth. Meanwhile, The Blind—based on the early struggles and Christian conversion of Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson—spent its second straight weekend in the top five, a rarity for a Fathom Release. It earned an eye-opening $4 million to close out the top five.
Elsewhere, the 30th anniversary re-release of Hocus Pocus added another $1.5 million to its creepy coffers to finish 10th.
But if you want to see something really terrifying, take a look at what’s coming next week: Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. That film scared off pretty much every other film off the docket. How much will Swift take on her cinematic Tour? Stay tuned.
2 Responses
-Obviously few moviegoers pay attention to reviews, otherwise “The Exorcist: Believer” would bomb at the box office. But there’s a little Argentinian horror flick out called “When Fear Lurks” that I saw a few days ago. It’s only playing at one of our four local cineplexes, and I’m glad it is, because it’s one very effective, very DIFFERENT sort of spookfest. It’s clocking in 98% “Fresh” at Rotton Tomatoes, compared to “Exorcist: Believer’s” paltry 23%.
-You’ll have to forgive me for the mistake, the movie is called “When Evil Lurks,” not “When Fear lurks.”