Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema’s latest horror offering, “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” has exceeded expectations with an impressive $194 million global opening weekend. This debut has set a new record for the largest worldwide opening in horror film history, surpassing the previous record held by 2017’s “It.”
The ninth installment in the popular Conjuring series has also achieved a significant milestone with a remarkable $110 million international debut, outperforming the prior record set by “It: Chapter Two” in 2019. Domestically, the film raked in $84 million, ranking as the third-highest opening for the horror genre, trailing behind “It” and “It: Chapter Two.” Sunday’s box office numbers solidified its position as the most successful opening in the series both in the U.S. and globally.
Helmed by franchise veteran Michael Chaves, “Last Rites” brings back stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the paranormal investigators embarking on their most chilling case to date. Original creator James Wan and producer Peter Safran returned to oversee the film. The Conjuring universe, which includes spinoffs like “The Nun” and “Annabelle,” continues to reign as the highest-grossing horror franchise in history, amassing over $2.3 billion in global revenue.
With a production budget of $55 million, the movie has proven to be a commercial success for Warner Bros., marking their seventh consecutive film to debut over $40 million. This successful streak follows a series of less lucrative films such as “Joker: Folie à Deux,” “Mickey 17,” and “The Alto Knights,” underscoring the studio’s resurgence with recent hits like “A Minecraft Movie,” “Sinners,” “Final Destination: Bloodlines,” “F1: The Movie,” “Superman,” and “Weapons.”