The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It is expected to top the box office this weekend, with a three-day tally of $25 million for Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson’s Lorraine and Ed Warren.
After smashing pandemic-era records with a $48.3 million start last weekend, A Quiet Place II is on course for a healthy second frame of $20 million, indicating that cautious optimism that the theatrical business is finally making a recovery isn’t unwarranted.
WHY HORROR IS THE PERFECT GENRE TO WELCOME AUDIENCES BACK TO THE THEATER
That said, it’s still strange to think that two horror films are fighting for supremacy in the first weekend of June, a period when mega-budget action-packed blockbusters typically compete for audience attention, but after the last fifteen months, we’re just happy that double-digit openings are once again a regular occurrence.
Although theatres are still filling to capacity, and The Devil Made Me Do It also debuted on HBO Max simultaneously, $25 million is still enough to put it ahead of Annabelle Comes Home in terms of The Conjuring Universe’s first weekends, and it’ll be the sixth Warner Bros. hybrid release to debut at number one, dating back to December’s Wonder Woman 1984.
The Conjuring franchise is already the highest-grossing horror franchise of all time, and The Conjuring 3 only needs to generate less than $70 million to push the series above the $2 billion mark worldwide, a goal that is well within reach.
Cruella de Vil is expected to finish third with just over $11.2 million, bringing its total to $43 million in its first two weeks, which is good news for Disney given that it’s likely generated a healthy amount of revenue locked behind the Disney Plus Premier Access paywall, and a sequel is already in the works.
Raya and the Last Dragon, which is currently available to Disney Plus subscribers for free, is still expected to place sixth, an unquestionably excellent showing for the animated family film’s fourteenth weekend in theatres. Spirit Untamed will be sandwiched between the two aforementioned titles.which is on track for a respectable $7 million opening weekend, but the headlines will once again be filled with horror.