These numbers are ridiculous. Last week, projections had “The Conjuring: Last Rites” opening in the $50M+ range, but thise numbers turned out to be way off. The film is headed towards a $83M+ weekend, a franchise record. Its worldwide tally was a ridiculous $187M.
Warner Bros is out here having their seventh straight $40M+ opener which is a record, not just for them, but any studio in history. What a turnaround they’ve had since starting the year off with “Mickey 17” and “Alto Knights. In March, the trades had numerous articles spelling doom and gloom for film co-heads Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy
It’s not like reviews have been good for ‘Last Rites.’ To get a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, in this day and age of studio shilling, is quite something. That didn’t seem to matter much to this franchise’s devotees who still gave it a mediocre B Horror is horror these days, a profitable genre that for many demands the theatrical experience.