Almost half a century after the release of The Exorcist by William Friedkin, a new sequel titled The Exorcist: Believer has hit theaters and taken the top spot at the box office. The film opened with an impressive $11.9 million on its first day, including $2.85 million from previews, across 3,663 locations.
While it is expected to maintain its position over the weekend, it appears that The Exorcist: Believer may fall short of its initial optimistic projection of a $30 million weekend gross, with expectations now hovering around $28 million.
Comparatively, Believer is not performing as strongly as director David Gordon Green’s previous Blumhouse horror film, Halloween in 2018, which debuted with a whopping $76 million. Moreover, it is unlikely to match the original 1973 Exorcist, which remains the highest-grossing film in the series with a lifetime gross of $441 million (adjusted for inflation), making it the ninth-highest-grossing film in box office history.
Universal invested a substantial $400 million to secure the rights for a new Exorcist trilogy, with Ellen Burstyn reprising her role from the original film. A sequel, titled The Exorcist: Deceiver, is already scheduled for 2025, though it remains uncertain whether David Gordon Green will return as the director or if the follow-up will debut on Universal’s streaming service, Peacock. The decision to invest in the trilogy was influenced by the competitive streaming market when it was announced in 2021.
The Exorcist: Believer is out in theatres now.
