The Exorcist: Believer topped the Friday box office with $11.9 million, including $2.9 million in previews.
At this pace, the R-rated horror pic should open to $28 million domestically, a tepid number considering the high price paid for rights to the series.Globally, the film looks to open to $47.1 million for the weekend.The David Gordon Green-directed horror pic hits theaters exactly 50 years after the first Exorcist opened and made cinema history.
Directed by William Friedkin, the film was based on the book by William Peter Blatty and starred Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn.Blumhouse and Universal teamed on Exorcist: Believer after Universal reportedly paid a huge $400 million for the rights in 2021 (two more sequels are already planned).The same parties — Blumhouse, Universal and Green — were widely praised when reviving the marquee Halloween franchise.
(2018’s Halloween opened to a terrifyingly great $72.2 million).
Exorcist: The Believer had hoped to snag $30 million to $36 million in its first weekend.
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