‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ scores another box office win for horror films

2025 has been a year of horror at the global box office, and the new sequel, ‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’, was no exception in its opening weekend.

Upon its box office debut this past weekend, the latest ‘Conjuring’ sequel, titled ‘Last Rites’, raked in $83 million from 3802 domestic theatres, making it the third-highest domestic opening for a horror flick, just behind ‘It’ and ‘It: Chapter Two’.

Meanwhile, it is the largest horror opening internationally, with an additional $104 million in ticket sales from the overseas market.

Moreover, the ninth instalment of the ‘Conjuring’ universe also broke records, securing the biggest opening weekend in the franchise. However, ‘Last Rites’, starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as the paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, has received mixed reviews from critics, with a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes and a ‘B’ CinemaScore.

Being the latest box office win for the horror genre, the movie’s opening weekend numbers are nearly double that of other recent hits, including Zach Cregger’s sleeper hit ‘Weapons’, as well as ‘Final Destination: Bloodlines’ and ‘Sinners’ — all released by Warner Bros.

Notably, the genre last crossed the $1 billion mark in 2023, and upcoming horror films like ‘Black Phone 2’ and ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ are likely to boost the figure.

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