The Conjuring Last Rites opened in theatres with strong numbers, giving the franchise a significant boost at the box office.
What's Happening
- The movie earned $8.5 million from Thursday previews in the US, marking the best preview numbers ever for the franchise.
- On Friday, the R-rated horror film continued its success at the US box office, earning $30 million, and is now expected to debut with over $65 million from nearly 3,800 theatres over the opening weekend.
- According to The Hollywood Reporter, the numbers could even peak at $70 million. This is almost double the $35 million projection from New Line and Warner Bros before the weekend and exceeds expectations.
- The Conjuring: Last Rites closes the first era of the franchise with a story inspired by the real-life Smurl family haunting. The film stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, who have been the faces of the franchise since the beginning, and this marks their final appearances as paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren.
- Although this is the ninth and last film in Phase One of The Conjuring Universe (which includes Annabelle and The Nun), the franchise isn't ending, as Phase Two is already in the works.
Background
Globally, the movie is expected to earn around $115 million during its opening weekend. It was released in over 60 international markets. Made on a budget of $55 million (excluding promotion and marketing), early returns look promising.
Directed by Michael Chaves, the story is set in Pennsylvania, where a family begins experiencing strange disturbances in their home. As the activities grow violent, they turn to the public for help, uncovering the Warrens' last case - one they couldn't fully solve. Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy also star, with producers James Wan and Peter Safran returning to the project.
In India, The Conjuring: Last Rites opened without much initial buzz but surprisingly performed exceptionally well on day one. Pre-sales reflected the anticipation, with 2.27 lakh tickets sold through national cinema chains (PVR, Inox, Cinepolis), setting a 2025 record and surpassing Vicky Kaushal's Chhaava, which sold 2.23 lakh tickets in pre-sales. The top five pre-sales in India were: The Conjuring: Last Rites - 2.27 lakh, Chhaava - 2.23 lakh, Saiyaara - 1.93 lakh, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning - 1.65 lakh and Baaghi 4 - 1.55 lakh
According to Sacnilk, The Conjuring: Last Rites (IMAX) earned around Rs 18 crore net in India on its first day across all languages. The film recorded an overall 61.10% occupancy for English shows and 49.61% for Hindi shows. Early estimates showed English 4DX screenings nearly 92% full, with cities like Hyderabad hitting 99-100% occupancy in some time slots. Hindi 2D shows averaged around 50% occupancy, while Hindi 4DX screenings reached 91% overall. The release in regional languages also contributed to the turnout, with strong audiences for Telugu and Tamil shows.
The film's success came amid stiff competition, clashing with Tiger Shroff's much-anticipated action comeback, Baaghi 4.
According to Sacnilk, Baaghi 4 couldn't match The Conjuring's performance and managed only Rs 12 crore on day one.
With an overall 28.32% occupancy for Hindi shows on Friday, the A Harsha-directed and Sajid Nadiadwala-produced film fell short compared to the franchise's earlier releases.
Baaghi 3 had collected Rs 17.5 crore on its opening day, while Baaghi 2 opened with Rs 25 crore.
