‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’, released on September 5, has officially scared up a massive win at the global box office. The latest chapter in Warner Bros. and New Line’s long-running horror franchise has debuted with an astonishing $194 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing global opening for a horror film in history.
This achievement surpasses the previous record set by 2017’s ‘It’, which opened to $190 million globally. Initial projections for ‘Last Rites’ had it coming in at around $187 million, but final weekend figures pushed it past expectations.
Directed by franchise regular Michael Chaves, ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ also set a new record for the biggest international opening for a horror film, collecting $110 million overseas. That number beats out 2019’s ‘It: Chapter Two’, which earned $92 million internationally.
In the United States and Canada, the film brought in $84 million, placing it as the third-biggest domestic horror debut—behind It ($123 million) and ‘It: Chapter Two’ ($91 million), both of which are also Warner Bros. titles.
With a production budget of $55 million, ‘Last Rites’ is already a commercial success. It also marks a continued turnaround for Warner Bros., which had recently faced a string of underperforming films including ‘Joker: Folie à Deux’, ‘Mickey 17’, and ‘The Alto Knights’.
The studio has now achieved an impressive feat: seven consecutive films opening to over $40 million. These include ‘A Minecraft Movie’, ‘Sinners’, ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’, ‘F1: The Movie’ (distributed for Apple), ‘Superman’, and ‘Weapons’.
‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ brings back familiar faces Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren—paranormal investigators at the heart of the franchise. This time, they are trying to expel a demon haunting a family home, continuing the series’ blend of supernatural horror and character-driven storytelling.
Created by James Wan, The Conjuring Universe now includes multiple sequels and spin-offs, such as ‘The Nun’ and ‘Annabelle’, and holds the title of highest-grossing horror franchise of all time, with more than $2.3 billion in total earnings.
While superhero fatigue and franchise burnout have dominated recent film discourse, ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ proves that audiences still show up for well-crafted horror.
Bd-pratidin English/ ANI
