The Curse of La Llorona tops slow Easter weekend box office

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The fact that director Michael Chaves' THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA is part of the Conjuring Universe was withheld – and even flat-out denied – until an early screening revealed that it features a character from the THE CONJURING spin-off ANNABELLE. Now THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA has had its opening weekend, and like almost every other film in the Conjuring Universe it has opened #1 at the domestic box office… Although this one comes with a bit of a caveat: it came out at #1 during the slowest Easter weekend the box office has seen in 14 years, and it had the lowest opening of any film in the franchise.

THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA made $26.5 million at the domestic box office over the weekend. The previous lowest opening for a Conjuring Universe film was ANNABELLE: CREATION with $35 million. The only one that didn't open at #1 was the first ANNABELLE, which was #2 with $37,134,255. The #1 film that weekend was GONE GIRL, which beat ANNABELLE by less than $400,000 with its $37,513,109 haul.

The amount may be lower, but there's no bad news here. THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA was made on a budget of just $9 million, and when you add in the extra $30 million it made worldwide the film has already pulled in $56.4 million.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that the audience who showed up for THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA was 45% Hispanic, 56% female, and almost 80% of viewers were age 35 and younger.

Written by Mikki Daughtry and Tobias Iaconis, THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA has the following synopsis: 

La Llorona.  The Weeping Woman.  A horrifying apparition, caught between Heaven and Hell, trapped in a terrible fate sealed by her own hand.  The mere mention of her name has struck terror around the world for generations.  In life, she drowned her children in a jealous rage, throwing herself in the churning river after them as she wept in pain.  Now her tears are eternal.  They are lethal, and those who hear her death call in the night are doomed.  La Llorona creeps in the shadows and preys on the children, desperate to replace her own.  As the centuries have passed, her desire has grown more voracious… and her methods more terrifying.

In 1970s Los Angeles, La Llorona is stalking the night—and the children. Ignoring the eerie warning of a troubled mother suspected of child endangerment, a social worker and her own small kids are soon drawn into a frightening supernatural realm.  Their only hope to survive La Llorona’s deadly wrath may be a disillusioned priest and the mysticism he practices to keep evil at bay, on the fringes where fear and faith collide. 

Beware of her chilling wail…she will stop at nothing to lure you into the gloom. Because there is no peace for her anguish. There is no mercy for her soul. And there is no escape from the curse of La Llorona.

The film stars Linda Cardellini, Raymond Cruz, Patricia Velasquez, Marisol Ramirez, Sean Patrick Thomas, Jaynee-Lynne Kinchen, and newcomer Roman Christou, along with a special guest appearance by ANNABELLE's Tony Amendola.