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The numbers are a bit spooky as The Exorcist: Believer possessed the box office with a below-expectation audience.
It's not all scary news. The Exorcist: Believer came in first place over the weekend at the box office, with an estimated $27.2 million from 3,663 theaters, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
However, it fell below expectations. Though it was not a horror-ible opening for an R-rated film, considering Universal paid a significant $400 million for the rights to the franchise and there are more sequels in the works, this latest Exorcist film was hoping to do better.
Possible reasons for the unspectacular opening may have been a few factors. One is they opened a week before originally anticipated. That was due to Taylor Swift's announcement of her concert film, The Eras Tour, which will open across the globe on the date Believer was initially set to open. Typically, it's not the best idea to change the date for an opening because it affects marketing materials and outdoor promotions that state the original release date.
Also, the movie hasn't been getting the best reviews, which may be why fans aren't running to the theaters. The critics' score on Rotton Tomatoes is a measly 23 percent, and audience-goers gave the film a C CinemaScore — which is pretty typical for the horror genre.
The Exorcist: Believer is the fourth film in the franchise. Two more installments are planned, with the sequel set to be released in 2025.
Horror films, in general, are challenging to bring in record numbers, so it's not an entire disappointment for the Exorcist flick. However, I'm sure The Exorcist producers would like to possess more people to buy tickets.
