‘The Exorcist: Believer’ made its demonic presence felt at the box office in a weekend without much competition from new films, grossing $27.2 million in North America over its opening weekend, according to studio estimates.
The latest installment of the iconic horror franchise left its mark, surpassing the combined weekend earnings of the following three films.
Yet, while it nearly recouped its reported $30 million budget within days, ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ faced mixed reviews and proved somewhat underwhelming as the inaugural installment of a new trilogy.
Last week’s top film, ‘Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,’ found itself in a distant second place with $11.8 million, bringing its total to $38.9 million after two weekends.
Following closely behind was another horror sequel, ‘Saw X,’ which secured the third spot with $8.2 million and $32.6 million after two weekends.
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‘The Exorcist: Believer’ and the 50th Anniversary
The release of ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ was strategically timed, coming just shy of the 50th anniversary of the original horror classic.
It is worth noting that this release follows the passing of the original film’s director, William Friedkin, just two months ago.
Directed by David Gordon Green, known for his work on the recent ‘Halloween’ trilogy, ‘The Exorcist: Believer’ stars Leslie Odom Jr. of ‘Hamilton’ fame, alongside Lidya Jewett as his 13-year-old daughter. However, the film received a lukewarm critical reception, earning a mere 23% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
USA TODAY’s Brian Truitt acknowledged the film’s attempt to honor its legendary predecessor but noted that it fell short of capturing the profound terror of William Friedkin’s groundbreaking work.
Rounding out the top five was Disney’s AI thriller ‘The Creator’ at the fourth position with $6.1 million and the ‘Duck Dynasty’ prequel ‘The Blind’ at the fifth position with $3.1 million.
Notably, the weekend marked the first time that ‘Barbie’ fell out of the top 10 since its release in July, despite its impressive domestic earnings of over $600 million and a global total exceeding $1.3 billion.
The departure of ‘Barbie’ reflects the shifting dynamics of the box office as new contenders vie for audience attention in the ever-evolving world of cinema.
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Source: USA Today
