The Conjuring: Last Rites $187 Million Opening Weekend Is the Second Biggest Global Box Office Debut Ever for a Horror Film, Behind Only It

The Conjuring: Last Rites got off to a huge start at the box office, pulling in $187 million globally during opening weekend. It’s not only the best start for a Conjuring movie theatrically, it’s the second-biggest global box office debut for a horror movie ever, with only 2017’s It ahead with $190 million.

Domestically, The Conjuring: Last Rites enjoyed a huge $83 million haul, but it went one better internationally, pulling in a whopping $104 million. That’s the largest international opening weekend ever for a horror movie.

The Conjuring: Last Rites, directed by franchise veteran Michael Chaves and produced by franchise architects James Wan and Peter Safran, was also huge at IMAX, securing $14.3 million in what was the biggest IMAX global opening ever for a September release.

The Conjuring Universe, as it’s called, presents a dramatization of the supposed real-life adventures of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. The films revolve around their work to help people harassed by spirits. The franchise kicked off with 2013’s The Conjuring, which was quickly followed by spinoff Annabelle a year later. The Conjuring 2 came out in 2016, with Annabelle: Creation keeping the pattern going by launching in 2017.

2018 saw another spinoff, The Nun, before Annabelle Comes Home came out in 2019. Two years later, in 2021, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It hit theaters. The Nun 2 followed in 2023, and now, two years after that, The Conjuring: Last Rites has been released.

The Conjuring franchise has enjoyed enormous box office success despite mixed reviews from critics. Indeed it’s the highest-grossing horror franchise in history with more than $2.3 billion. IGN’s The Conjuring: Last Rites review returned a 6/10. We said: “After a strong first act, The Conjuring’s intended finale disappoints, keeping its central duo of Ed and Lorraine away from the action for too long.”

Given the success of Last Rites, it seems inevitable that more The Conjuring movies will eventually make their way to theaters. If you want to know if there are any post- or mid-credits scenes in The Conjuring: Last Rites, check out IGN’s The Conjuring: Last Rites Ending Explained.

Meanwhile, Zach Cregger’s horror film Weapons is now up to $251.5 million globally after weekend five. Freakier Friday is up to $142.9 million, also after five weekends.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.