New Line’s “The Conjuring: Last Rites” has kept Warner Bros.’ white-hot box office winning streak rolling into September as it has earned a franchise record $8.5 million from Thursday preview screenings in 3,200 locations.
With this result, the final chapter of the story of Ed and Lorraine Warren is set to earn the best opening weekend ever in the “Conjuring” franchise, passing the $53.8 million launch of the 2018 spinoff “The Nun” as it is projected for a $60 million-plus opening.
In doing so, “Last Rites” will become the seventh straight Warner Bros. release to earn an opening weekend greater than $40 million. It’s a streak that goes back to April with the drought-busting duo of “A Minecraft Movie” and “Sinners” and has continued with the New Line films “Final Destination Bloodlines” and “Weapons,” DC’s “Superman” and Apple’s “F1.”
Reception for “The Conjuring: Last Rites” has been mixed, with critics agreeing that it is far from the “Conjuring” series’ best with a 54% Rotten Tomatoes score. It is similar to the 56% score given to the last main entry in the series, 2021’s “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It,” while the initial audience score for “Last Rites” stands at 77%.
Still, every film in the “Conjuring” series has earned a multiple of at least 2x, so “Last Rites” should turn a theatrical profit with a $100 million-plus domestic run against a reported budget of $55 million. This will bring Warner Bros.’ domestic gross total for the year past $1.7 billion as it prepares to release its final film for 2025, Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another,” at the end of this month.
“The Conjuring: Last Rites” is now playing in theaters.
