Even after moving up a week to escape the all-consuming drawing power of Taylor Swift, “The Exorcist: Believer” is thus far holding its own as the key new wide release this weekend. The $30 million-budgeted legacy sequel to the late William Friedkin’s 50-year-old Oscar-nominated blockbuster earned $2.85 million in Thursday preview showings. Barring massive frontloading or unexpected legs, that positions the film for a domestic debut weekend between $25 million and $30 million.
While the film itself cost a reasonable (if high for Blumhouse) $30 million, the overall package deal to nab the rights to the IP went for $400 million. That deal, made in the summer of 2021, seemed to be a byproduct of Netflix throwing around money like it was tissue paper.
Comcast was arguably making a show of saying that it too would spend and spend big on potentially big-deal IP. Recall that Netflix had just spent $450 million on acquiring and producing the two sequels to Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out.” 2.5 years later, the deal seems a relic of a bygone era. Entertainment companies, and even streamers, are focused on cost-cutting and savings over a content arms race.
“The Exorcist” is, adjusted for inflation, the biggest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, with $1.2 billion in inflation-adjusted domestic earnings. Heck, its unadjusted $234 million lifetime total is $232 million, still in second place among R-rated horror films behind only “It” which earned $327 million domestically in 2017. It’s unquestionably a milestone property and a touchstone event in horror cinema.
However, none of the “Exorcist” sequels or prequels have been A) terribly acclaimed or B) excessively successful. To be fair, William Peter Blatty’s “The Exorcist III” has garnered a cult following and renewed appreciation. Even a $25 million launch would be the biggest yet — sans inflation — for the ongoing franchise. As far as the mostly negative critical notices, few should expect the fifth (or sixth since the prequel actually had two different versions released in 2004 by Renny Harlin and 2005 by Paul Schraeder) installment of this franchise to get rave reviews.
While Comcast may have arguably overpaid for the IP — bringing Ellen Burstyn returning to her Oscar-nominated role isn’t exactly Jamie Lee Curtis again facing Michael Myers — the film is still positioned as the big-deal scary movie of the Halloween season. It may get an added boost from those who show up disproportionately for religious-themed horror movies. We’ve seen this from releases as varied as “The Exorcism of Emily Rose” in 2005 to “The Nun II” last month.
While the overall deal and its implications complicate the raw financial picture, a $30 million, R-rated horror film is still on track to open with around $25-$30 million in its domestic debut.
