‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ Smashes Box Office with $83M Opening—Is This the Horror Comeback the Stars Predicted?
Added on September 7, 2025 inMovie News Cards
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Is it just me, or does the cosmos have a cheeky sense of timing? As the stars shuffle their astral decks this weekend, Hollywood’s horror titan, The Conjuring: Last Rites, doesn’t just raise the dead on-screen—it resurrects the domestic box office with a spine-tingling $34.5 million smash on its opening day, smashing franchise records like a possessed wrecking ball. Maybe the Moon in Scorpio is fueling all this paranormal hustle? Whatever it is, this flick’s not stopping; it’s lofting projections toward a monstrous $75 million opening, dominating theaters with a premium-format blitz that’s got both scares and dollars flying high. Meanwhile, Hamilton is belting out tunes strong enough to hit a lyrical second place, proving that sometimes, musicals and monsters can share the box office limelight. So, whether you’re rooting for ghosts or greatness, the weekend’s looking like a cosmic cocktail of thrills and marquee magic. Want to dive deeper into the celestial chaos and box office bonanza? LEARN MORE
Let the resurrection begin.
Jolting the domestic box office back to life in a major way, New Line’s The Conjuring: Last Rites topped Friday’s chart with a huge $34.5 million, including a record $8.5 million in Thursday previews. That’s by far the best opening day in the history of the franchise, yet another win for Warner Bros.’ film empire, as well as the best showing of the year so far for any Hollywood horror title. Last Rites is the seventh consecutive WB release to open north of $40 million this year, a first for any Hollywood studio and one of the numerous milestones achieved this year by the once-struggling studio.
The news only gets better from there. The R-rated film is showing no signs of slowing down as its projected domestic opening continues to climb. On Friday afternoon, it looked like it was headed for a record $65 million-plus bow. Now, it’s on course to open to $75 million from 3,802 theaters, including a lion’s share of higher-priced Imax and other premium large-format screens, which are a boon for the film in accounting for 40 percent of its total gross so far.
While New Line/Warners is sticking with $75 million, some rivals show it earning anywhere from $77 million to $80 million. Either way, even $75 million would be more than double the $35 million projection provided by New Line and parent company Warner Bros. heading into the weekend, although other box pundits thought north of $50 million was more likely.
Overseas, Last Rites is also coming in well ahead of an expected $50 million opening from more than 60 markets. Launching midweek, it has already earned $47.3 million through Friday, putting it on course for a likely record-breaking international debut of $90 million to $95 million for a terrifyingly great global start of $165 million to $170 million against a net production budget of $55 million before marketing. If it gets past $92.2 million, Last Rites would surpass fellow New Line release It: Chapter Two ($92.5 million) to rank as the industry’s top foreign bow of all time, not adjusted for inflation. And a global debut of $170 million would mark Hollywood’s third-largest horror bow of all time on the global stage behind It and It: Chapter Two, unadjusted.
The Conjuring: Last Rites stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are in their final turn as real-life paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren, but that doesn’t mean the franchise is going anywhere. Last Rites is billed as the ninth and final title in Phase One of The Conjuring Universe, which has become the top-earning horror franchise ever after collecting more than $2.3 billion in global ticket sales, not adjusted for inflation. Next up is Phase Two.
Directed by series regular Michael Chaves, Last Rites — a sequel to The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It — is based on the Warren’s investigation of the Smurl haunting in Pennsylvania. Mia Tomlinson and Ben Hardy also star, with Atomic Monster’s James Wan and DC Studios co-chief Peter Safran returning to produce.
In 2013, the very first Conjuring movie opened to $41 million domestically, not adjusted for inflation. No subsequent title in the Conjuring Universe was able to topple that record until The Nun, which debuted to $53.8 million in 2018.
Critics haven’t been so kind to the new Last Rites movie — the same could be said for most installments — but audience reaction is promising. The pic received a B CinemaScore, a great grade for a horror pic.
That isn’t the only new offering on the marquee scaring up strong numbers as the fall box office gets underway. Disney’s rerelease of the acclaimed 2021 filmed version of Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s groundbreaking stage musical Hamilton is singing to strong numbers, earning an estimated $3.9 million on Friday, including $850,000 in Thursday previews.
Based on early returns, Hamilton is now on track to come in second for the weekend with a strong $9 million to $10 million, on par with last weekend’s 50th anniversary rerelease of Steven Spielberg’s legendary film, Jaws.
Hamilton is booked in 1,825 theaters domestically, including over 100 premium large-format screens. Promoted as a one-week limited engagement, the run will likely be extended based on demand.
Between them, Warner Bros. and Disney own the upper reaches of the box office chart. New Line’s Weapons and Disney’s Freakier Friday, both now in their fifth outings, are coming in fourth and fifth. People are well aware of Weapons‘ staying power, but Freakier Friday‘s stamina has also become a topic of conversation. Darren Aronofsky’s star-studded Caught Stealing isn’t as fortunate, at least so far. It’s expected to tumble more than 60 percent in its second outing for a fifth-place finish.
Sept. 5, 1:50 p.m.: Updated with revised weekend projections.
Sept. 6, 8:00 a.m.: Updated with revised weekend projections.
Sept. 6, 9:15 a.m.: Updated with revised overseas numbers.
This story was originally published today at 8:28 a.m.
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