LAST RITES Is Already The Biggest CONJURING Movie Ever
As far as modern horror franchises go, it just doesn’t get any bigger than The Conjuring Universe. Even before The Conjuring: Last Rites had the biggest opening for a horror movie ever at the box office with $194 million worldwide, we were talking about a $2 billion franchise. Now, it’s closer to $3 billion. That’s because Last Rites has continued to perform even against stiff competition, as it’s now the highest-grossing mainline Conjuring movie to date.
See also: Why THE CONJURING: LAST RITES Director Cut The Humor From Original Opening Scene
Director Michael Chaves’ Last Rites pulled in an estimated $26.1 million domestically over the weekend. That represents a pretty steep 69% drop from its massive opening. But that’s in no small part because Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle opened to an astonishing $70 million. In an event, the fourth and final Conjuring movie featuring Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as Lorraine and Ed Warren held well overseas pulling in $60.5 million in weekend two. It has now made $332.8 million globally.
That puts it above the lifetime grosses of James Wan’s The Conjuring ($320 million), The Conjuring 2 ($322 million) and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It ($206 million). The biggest movie in The Conjuring Universe overall remains The Nun ($366 million), but Last Rites is the biggest of the main entries and it will soon pass Valak to become the biggest entry in the universe overall.
This is all very impressive and it continues Warner Bros.’ hot streak at the box office this year, particularly as it relates to horror. The studio is also behind Sinners ($366 million worldwide), Final Destination Bloodlines ($310 million worldwide) and Weapons ($259 million worldwide). What’s even more impressive is that WB is getting the job done with both big original horror movies as well as long-running franchises.
Elsewhere, it was a big weekend overall as Stephen King's The Long Walk also opened to $11.5 million, while Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale arrived with $18.1 million. It wasn't a weekend anyone expected to be as big as it ended up being and yet, here we are.
As for the future of this franchise? This movie was billed as the end for Wilson and Farmiga’s version of the Warrens. However, a Conjuring TV series is in the works as we speak. There are also still possible other spin-offs for the studio to pursue, such as The Nun 3 and The Crooked Man. So, while the Warrens may be walking off into the sunset on a high note, The Conjuring Universe will undoubtedly continue on in some way, shape, or form.
The Conjuring: Last Rites is in theaters now. For more, get the lowdown on Dead Island 3, which appears to be in the works.
