New Line’s The Conjuring: Last Rites jolted the domestic box office with a massive $83 million opening weekend. The debut included $34.5 million on Friday, with $8.5 million from Thursday previews alone.
It’s the biggest opening in franchise history and the third-largest horror debut of all time. It also marks the best horror launch of the year and continues Warner Bros.’ winning streak. Last Rites is the studio’s seventh release in a row to open above $40 million, setting a new Hollywood record.
The fall box office saw other strong performances as well. Disney’s rerelease of Hamilton, the filmed version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit stage musical, pulled in $3.9 million on Friday. That included $850,000 from Thursday previews.
Holdovers also showed resilience. Warner Bros. and New Line’s Weapons landed fourth with $5.4 million from 3,284 theaters. Its domestic total now stands at $143 million. Overseas, it added $4.6 million, pushing its worldwide gross past $250 million.
Disney’s Freakier Friday followed in fifth place, steady in its fifth weekend.
The top 12 movies of the weekend, as of Sunday, September 7, are as follows:
| # | Title | Distributor Name | Weekend Total | # of Locs | Loc Avg | Cume Total | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conjuring: Last Rites, The | Warner Bros. | $83,000,000 | 3,802 | $21,831 | $83,000,000 | |
| 2 | Hamilton | Disney | $10,000,000 | 1,825 | $5,479 | $10,000,000 | |
| 3 | Weapons | Warner Bros. | $5,370,000 | 3,284 | $1,635 | $143,045,000 | -49% |
| 4 | Freakier Friday | Disney | $3,800,000 | 3,125 | $1,216 | $87,813,679 | -44% |
| 5 | Caught Stealing | Sony | $3,200,000 | 3,578 | $894 | $14,901,000 | -59% |
| 6 | Roses, The | Searchlight | $2,800,000 | 2,700 | $1,037 | $12,284,311 | -55% |
| 7 | Fantastic Four: First Steps, The | Disney | $2,750,000 | 2,385 | $1,153 | $270,131,321 | -45% |
| 8 | Bad Guys 2, The | Universal | $2,450,000 | 2,602 | $942 | $77,710,000 | -48% |
| 9 | Light of the World | Emick | $2,400,000 | 2,075 | $1,157 | $2,400,000 | |
| 10 | Superman | Warner Bros. | $1,000,000 | 1,187 | $842 | $353,302,000 | -61% |
| 11 | Jaws (1975) | Universal | $950,000 | 2,100 | $452 | $286,002,000 | -88% |
| 12 | Splitsville | Neon Rated | $815,000 | 800 | $1,019 | $1,231,089 | 366% |
