Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | October 9, 2023
Universal put down a reported $400 million for the rights to the Exorcist franchise, hoping to revive it for a new generation. David Gordon Green’s The Exorcist: Believer opened at number one this past weekend with $27.2 million from 3,663 theatres. That seems solid for a film with a $30 million budget. But again: $400 million for those rights. That’s a gamble that’s going to need a bigger commercial performance than one that would be good for a mid-budget horror title. Those bad reviews can’t have helped, with some declaring it to be the worst film in the Exorcist franchise so far. There just didn’t seem to be much hunger for more, especially since it’s a series with one bona fide masterpiece and a bunch of follow-ups that either underperformed critically or financially (but the third one still slaps and the second one deserves more love). Will the sequel to this one still happen? Stay tuned…
With spooky season underway, now is a good time for big re-releases of nostalgic favourites. Step forward Hocus Pocus, which turned 30 this month. Disney took advantage of good old millennial hunger for our childhoods and put it back in 1,430 theatres. That was enough to bring in $1.542 million.
The rest of the weekend was big for indie titles hoping to find some foothold on the box office before the Swifties take over every screen in a 3k mile radius. She Came to Me, the rom-com starring Peter Dinklage and Anne Hathaway, made $360,000 from 355 locations; drama The Royal Hotel earned $335,000 from 267 cinemas; the delightfully titled Dicks: The Musical made an impressive $220,867 from only seven theatres; Pedro Almodovar’s gay Western short Strange Way of Life grossed $205,050 from 276 places; indie horror When Evil Lurks got $200,233 from 659 theatres; the acclaimed but inexplicable documentary Mister Organ (seriously, look it up) took in $13,588 from six theatres; and Cat Person, the adaptation of the short story that went viral several years ago, earned $10,000 from four cinemas.
This coming week sees the release of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour. Strap in, folks. Pray for your local cinema employees.
You can check out the rest of the weekend box office here.
