‘The Exorcist: Believer’ Opens Below Expectations At Number One

The Exorcist: Believer claimed the top spot as expected at the box office but its opening came in below tracking expectations which could spell trouble for Universal’s $400 million investment.

The Exorcist: Believer grossed $26.5 million over the weekend which is below the $30-35 million the film was tracking at ahead of its opening. There are a few factors at play as to why the opening was a bit soft and that begins with the dismal reviews the film received as its debut approached. The film carries a rather low 23 percent rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes and while horror can overcome lackluster reviews (see The Nun II), when it comes from a well-known IP that marketing itself as a legacy sequel to a horror movie staple, fans can become skeptical when the critical response is lacking.

The film wasn’t only disliked by many critics. The movie received a “C” CinemaScore from opening day audiences which is low even for horror and the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is also lacking at 58 percent. All signs point to The Exorcist: Believer taking a big dive in subsequent weekends even with spooky season in full effect. Taylor Swift is about to take some of its screens this weekend with her concert film that has already cleared $100 million in advance ticket sales. The legacy sequel was originally set to open this weekend but moved up a week when the Swift concert also nabbed the slot. As it turns out, Swift and the Swifties may still prove to be a problem for the devil. The global opening for the film comes in at $45 million which was also viewed to be soft by box office analysts.

Dropping to second is PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, which grossed $11.3 million, down 50.2 percent from the previous weekend. That’s a pretty steep decline for children’s film but these mighty puppies are winning in other ways. The film pulled in an additional $14 million from 57 overseas markets and brought its overall global tally to $87.1 million. The film has 13 more markets to open in and it’s sure to add more coin to its total before it’s all said and done which will be more than enough to drive merchandising sales. The domestic total stands at $38.4 million.

In third, we find Saw X with a gross of $7.8 million, down a typical for horror 57.2 percent from its opening weekend. The good thing for Saw X is that the budget was low at $13 million and it has already grossed $33.2 million domestically. In addition, the global haul stands at $56.9 million which has already eclipsed the global tally of the previous film Spiral ($40.6 million).

Dropping to fourth is The Creator with a gross of $6.2 million, down 55.6 percent from its opening weekend. This is another steep drop in the top five as many of these films, this one in particular, are likely being hurt by the SAG-AFTRA strike and the inability of actors to go out and promote their films right now. The domestic total comes in at $25 million but overseas traction is making up some ground for the film’s rather slim by today’s standards $80 million budget with a worldwide total of $62.9 million.

Rounding out the top five is the faith-based major picture The Blind which grossed $3.2 million. Its drop of 26.5 percent is the lowest in the top five so there is something to be said about that in the current climate and the ability of these films to really tap into their target audience.

What are your thoughts on this weekend’s box office results? Check back next week when Taylor Swift takes the box office by storm and finally gives us a real success story to discuss for the fall.