Numbers have begun rolling in for this first full weekend in October and they are generally in line with our predictions from Thursday. The Exorcist: Believer is coming out on top with what is looking like a softer than expected $28 million (tracking had the film taking in between $30-$36 million).
This is both good and bad news for the newest entry in the decades old franchise as it definitely represents a franchise best opening, and that will certainly be the headlines for this weekend. While the fact that it is getting completely obliterated by critics means that this softer than expected opening will likely have a horrendous second week drop. Ranging from calling it dull to our own Chris Bumbray calling it “awful” in his 4/10 review. And whereas sometimes there is a big discrepancy between critic and audiences, this one seems to be hated by both as it currently has a 55% audience score.
The plus side is that the film cost just $30 million to produce before marketing and should recoup that money, but apparently Universal shelled out $400 million for the rights to the franchise, and if this is how you start, I’m not sure fans will be willing to come back for the rest of the planned trilogy.
For my money, I didn’t hate the movie as much as the majority of critics seem to have. Perhaps my expectations were severely lowered by the horrible reviews, but the movie was able to hold my attention, even if I didn’t find it to be breaking any new ground. I have never been the biggest fan of devil possession movies mainly because most of them try and shock without being actually creepy, and this movie is no exception. Of course when the biggest praise you can heap on a film is that it isn’t as bad as what the critics are saying, I’m not sure that is a quote they are going to stick on the blu ray!
The remainder of the top five look to have simply moved down a spot from where they finished last week with Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie looking at around $12 million while Saw X actually shows some signs of life by only dropping a little over 50% in its second weekend, whereas most horror films tend to have drops closer to the 60% mark. I guess sometimes good reviews do matter (like our 7/10 review from Tyler Nichols).
Sadly the lone piece of original IP in the top five, The Creator, looks to drop a little over 60% in its second weekend as general word of mouth for the Gareth Edwards directed AI centric film tends to be that it is a bit boring. Studios will draw the wrong conclusions from this and use it as a way to justify not spending money on original ideas any more. I looked up what the last genuine piece of original IP that was a bonafide box office hit and had to go all the way back to January when M3GAN was released and before that would be September 2022 when Smile hit theaters. So basically horror movies with original ideas can do well at the box office while films from Spielberg (The Fabelmans, West Side Story) and ones starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts (Ticket To Paradise) fail to make an impression.
Rounding out the top five will be The Nun II with what looks like an additional $2.5 million for a running total just over $80 million. With a few weeks until Halloween, this one should continue to see small week top week drops, but I think at this point it will probably fail to hit that $100 million domestic mark.
Did you see The Exorcist: Believer this weekend? If so, let us know your thoughts in the comments section and don’t forget to check back tomorrow when we have a full run down on this weekend’s box office.