411 Box Office Report: The Conjuring: Last Rites Roars To Massive $83 Million Start

The Conjuring: Last Rites shot to the top of the box office, massively overperforming to claim the top spot. The fourth and final film of the main Conjuring franchise raked in $83 million in its opening weekend, a huge opening that blew away the rest of the competition. That blasted way past expectations coming into the weekend that had it in the $55 million range.

How big of an opening is this? Let us count the ghostly ways. First off, the opening is the third-best horror film opening of all-time domestically, behind only It Chapter One $123.4 million in September of 2017 and It Chapter 2’s $91.1 million start in September of 2019. Both of those films, it should be said, opened in the exact same weekends of their respective years as Last Rites. They are also, like Last Rites, Warner Bros. films. This gives Warner Bros. eight #1 openings in 2025, seven of which opened at over $40 million.

In terms of the franchise, Last Rites destroyed the previous high opening weekend of $53.8 million set by The Nun in the first September of 2018. (Are we seeing a trend here?) The previous high for the main Conjuring films was $41.9 million set by the first film in July of 2013.

How did the James Wan-produced franchise pull off such a big opening? A combination of factors. For one, there has been a bit of a dearth of new marquee content over the past couple of weeks, unless you count KPop Demon Hunters’ two-day release two weekends back. For another, whatever people may think of the Nun films, the main franchise is still highly regarded by fans and that paid off in spades. Warner Bros. smartly marketed this film on being the conclusion of the arc for Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s (highly fictionalized) take on Ed and Lorraine Warren, which was enough to bring the fans out.

The buzz around Last Rites was enough to overcome middling critical regard; the film had a very “meh” 56% aggregated average on Rotten Tomatoes. Fan regard is okay, with a B CinemaScore and 79% RT audience rating. Those compare to 56% and 83% for 2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It.

None of that semi-middling reaction hurt the film, which held well throughout the weekend. What’s more, it grossed $104 million overseas, giving it a $187 million worldwide start which is a horror record. At this point, even if it were to absolutely bomb out in subsequent weekends it is a massive hit against its $55 million budget and sure to top both The Conjuring’s $137.4 million domestically and The Nun’s $366.1 million to set franchise records. While it seems likely to be frontloaded, it’s hard to imagine it grossing less than $190 million to 200 million domestically.

Coming in at #2 was Disney’s theatrical release of Hamilton. The filmed version of the famed Lin-Manuel Miranda musical brought in $10 million. That’s a very good number for a film that’s been available on Disney+ since it was released during COVID lockdowns in July of 2020.

Theatrical rereleases have helped keep the box office afloat over the past month or so, including Jaws last week and the aforementioned KPop Demon Hunters. In Disney’s case, Hamilton helps tide the studio over with some box office receipts until Tron: Ares arrives on October 10th. (The studio will also have rereleases of Toy Story and Avatar: The Way of Water in the meantime.

All of this is extra money for the studio, which has turned things around a bit thanks to Lilo & Stitch and Fantastic Four: First Steps after a rough start to the year. Rereleases are always frontloaded and there’s no word on how long Hamilton may stay in theaters, but regardless still a boon to the studio and theater owners to have an attraction at the box office.

Weapons weathered the arrival of The Conjuring: Last Rites fairly well as it was down 49% in its fifth weekend to $5.4 million. Zach Cregger’s horror film is now up to $143 million domestically and $251.5 million worldwide, hugely profitable against a budget of $38 million. The movie is certain to top $150 million domestically and is likely to close over $155 million, a fantastic result.

Freakier Friday also continued to show its legs as it was off 44% in its fifth weekend to tally up $3.8 million through Monday. The revival sequel has now totaled $87.8 million stateside and an impressive $142.9 million worldwide against its $42 million production budget. It still has a good shot at crossing $100 million domestically.

Darren Aronofksy’s Caught Stealing took a hit in its second weekend as it dropped 59% to $3.2 million. The drop isn’t a huge surprise for this action comedy, which opened soft over the Labor Day weekend and, despite generally good reception, looked to have a forgettable final box office result. It has now grossed $14.9 million domestically and $24.3 million worldwide. This won’t be profitable in theaters considering the $40 million budget, but outside of some red on Sony Pictures’ ledger everyone will come out of this fine. It should end up around $22 million in the US by the end of its run.

The Roses was down 55% in its second weekend with $2.8 million. The darkly comedic remake of War Of the Roses now has $12.3 million stateside and a solid $32.3 million worldwide. No word on the budget but Searchlight Pictures probably isn’t worried too much here, especially when the film gets to digital. It will end up at around $18 million domestically.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps was down 45% in its seventh frame with $2.8 million, putting the MCU film at $270.1 million in the US and $511.3 million worldwide. It’s a much-needed success for Marvel against its $200 million budget and is still looking at around $275 million to $280 million by the time it closes out.

The Bad Guys 2 finally dropped a bit, down 48% in weekend six for $2.5 million. The Universal film has found success thanks to its overseas numbers, with $77.7 million stateside and $183.8 million worldwide. The budget was $80 million and the domestic final should be about $85 million.

Independent studio Salvation Poem Project scored its first-ever top 10 as Light of the World brought in $2.4 million.

This marks the second animated Biblical film to make a mark at the box office following Angel Studios’ The King of Kings which took in a total of $60.2 million domestically in April. Light of the World pulled the feat off through great reviews (a 91% on RT) and targeted marketing that earned it good word of mouth (a 91% audience score). Light of the World won’t stay in the box office much longer but it’s already achieved its goal. No word on its budget.

Superman closed out the top 10 with $1 million, down 61% in its ninth weekend. The film is a hit for Warner Bros. with $353.3 million domestically and $614.1 million worldwide. It’s going to end with about $355 million, the third best domestic total since DC Films launched with 2016’s Suicide Squad (Man of Steel and Batman V Superman were just under Warner Bros. and took in $291 million and $330.4 million domestically, respectively) It’s a solid hit against a $225 million budget.

The Warrens will find themselves in a battle with another demon slayer next weekend – specifically, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle. The animated film, which has already grossed $295.8 million overseas, is looking at $40 million but could go higher. Meanwhile, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is targeting around $20 million while The Long Walk should be in the $10 million range.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. The Conjuring: Last Rites – $83 million ($83 million total, $187 million WW)
2. Hamilton – $10 million ($10 million total, $10 million WW)
3. Weapons – $5.4 million ($143 million total, $251.5 million WW)
4. Freakier Friday – $3.8 million ($87.8 million total, $142.9 million WW)
5. Caught Stealing – $3.2 million ($14.9 million total, $24.3 million WW)
9. The Roses – $2.8 million ($12.3 million total, $32.3 million WW)
7. The Fantastic Four: First Steps – $2.8 million ($270.1 million total, $511.3 million WW)
8. The Bad Guys 2 – $2.5 million ($77.7 million total, $183.8 million WW)
9. Light Of the World – $2.4 million ($2.4 million total, $2.4 million WW)
10. Superman – $1 million ($353.3 million total, $614.1 million WW)