The Power of Sequels Doesn't Compel You: The Exorcist: Believer Falls Short of Opening Box Office Expectations

Image courtesy of Universal Pictures

In David Gordon Green's latest attempt to destroy a classic horror franchise, two young girls are possessed by the demon Pazuzu who was introduced in the classic original horror film. This weekend saw the possession genre make a return to theaters with his sequel, a movie that has been critically ravaged across the board. With Universal Pictures sinking $400 million into the purchase of the brand, it looks like the first film in the proposed trilogy may not live up to expectations despite already making back its production budget. 

It was initially thought that Believer would come in somewhere around $30 to $37 million in its domestic opening. It will end up closing out the weekend in the U.S. with $27.2 million. While this is not a massive failure, it's well below what they thought the movie would do in ticket sales. It generated another $17.9 million from 40 other markets. Luckily for all those involved, the movie had a relatively low production cost of only $20 million. 

When compared to his 2018 Halloween sequel, it fell super short considering that movie made $72.2 million domestically in its opening frame. Considering that The Exorcist is probably the biggest horror movie of all time, this shows that the property has no legs or people are not very interested in a further continuation of the demon Pazuzu and any other stories connected to such a classic. 

-CG