‘Conjuring 3’ Keeps Box Office Recovery Moving With $9.8 Million Friday Launch
Warner Bros./New Line’s “The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It” is on course to take the No.1 spot at the box office from Paramount’s “A Quiet Place – Part II” with $9.8 million grossed on Friday from 3,102 screens, giving the film an estimated $25 million opening as it also releases this weekend on HBO Max.
Such an opening puts the eighth film in the “Conjuring” universe just behind the $26.3 million opening earned by the 2019 spinoff “The Curse of La Llorona.” As with all “Conjuring” films, “The Devil Made Me Do It” was made on a relatively lower budget, with the latest holding a reported $39 million production spend. Reception has been fairly positive for the film with a 61% Rotten Tomatoes score and a B+ on CinemaScore.
Though it has stronger critical and public reception, “A Quiet Place – Part II” seems to be taking a hit from having another horror film to compete against this weekend. With “Conjuring 3” taking over IMAX and other premium screens this weekend, “Quiet Place II” has taken an estimated 58% drop from its 3-day opening weekend to $20 million, which would give it an estimated 10-day total of $89 million. While that’s still a strong figure, the original “Quiet Place” earned a 10-day total of $100 million.
Despite the estimates, “A Quiet Place – Part II” is on pace to become the first post-pandemic release to gross over $100 million domestically this coming week. Warner Bros.’ “Godzilla vs. Kong” looked to be the first film to hit that mark, but has lost momentum and is currently sitting at $99 million after 10 weekends. There is also still the possibility that “Quiet Place II” could take the No. 1 spot in Sunday’s charts — or at least get closer — if Friday-to-Saturday drops for “Conjuring 3” are steeper than what industry estimates are currently predicting.
Disney’s “Cruella” is in third with $3.2 million grossed on its second Friday and an estimated second weekend total of $11 million, giving it $43 million after 10 days. In fourth is the Universal/DreamWorks animated film “Spirit Untamed,” which opened on Friday to $2.4 million from 3,211 screens and is estimated to earn a $7 million opening, hitting the upper end of tracker projections. While the film has received mixed reviews with a 45% Rotten Tomatoes score, family audiences have given the film an A on CinemaScore.
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