Rites

The power of Christ still compels moviegoers. “The Conjuring: Last Rites” exorcised an impressive $34.5 million across Friday and preview screenings in 3,802 locations. That’s well ahead of the figure earned by the horror series’ 2018 spinoff “The Nun” ($22 million), giving “Last Rites” the biggest opening day gross in franchise history.

It puts the New Line feature on track to surge far above its pre-weekend industry projections for a $50 million debut, beating “The Nun” ($53 million) for the series’ biggest opening weekend ever. Not only will it be the biggest domestic bow for a horror movie in 2025, but the R-rated “Last Rites” could even rank as the seventh-biggest opening weekend of the year, with a chance at edging out “Thunderbolts*” ($74 million) depending on its play through Saturday. The film also gets a revenue boost from playing Imax and premium large-format auditoriums.

Even at its fourth mainline entry (and ninth including spin-offs), “The Conjuring” franchise has endured as a moviegoing draw. Stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson again return as the real-life, self-professed occult investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Director Michael Chaves is also back to helm this entry, after previously handling the last mainline installment “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” in 2021, plus the 2023 spinoff “The Nun II.”

The weekend also marks another hit for Warner Bros., which has now strung together a whopping seven consecutive openings above $40 million. Reviews have been mediocre for “Last Rites” and moviegoers are only a little more positive, with survey firm Cinema Score polling a franchise-low “B” grade among early audiences. But none of that is proving much of a hindrance. Against a production budget of $55 million, it’s off to a fantastic start.

Meanwhile, Disney has the filmed version of the Broadway musical juggernaut “Hamilton” in 1,825 theaters, with $3.9 million across Friday and preview screenings. It’s projecting to land in second place with a three-day opening around $9 million. It’s pretty remarkable, considering that “Hamilton” has been available to view on Disney+ for nearly a half-decade. The studio acquired rights to the performance recording years ago and had originally set theatrical plans, but released it on the platform during COVID lockdowns. But now “Hamilton” is finally in theaters to align with its 10th anniversary; evidently, there’s a desire to see it on the big screen, despite being readily available for home viewing.

Third place goes to another Warner Bros. horror title with “Weapons,” earning another $1.5 million on Friday to go down just 47% from its daily total last week. Now in its fifth weekend of release, writer-director Zach Cregger’s R-rated original has earned more than $140 million in North America.

Disney is currently holding fourth with “Freakier Friday,” which earned another $960,000 on Friday to fall 46% from its daily total last week. In its fifth weekend, the comedy sequel has now hit $85 million domestic and will soon pass “Snow White” ($87 million) to become the 15th-highest-grossing North American release of the year.

Narrowly slipping behind to fifth, Sony Pictures’ “Caught Stealing” is facing a $3.2 million gross for its second weekend, which would mark a 58% fall from it debut. That’s not the kind of hold that the mid-budget neo noir was depending on after a muted opening. It’s looking to hit just $14.9 million domestic through its second weekend.

Also opening wide this weekend, the Salvation Poem Project has the PG-rated Christian tale “Light of the World” in 2,075 locations. Rivals have the hand-drawn 2D animated feature at $700,000 for Friday and previews, with an eighth place opening in the cards.