The Conjuring: Last Rites has already broken multiple box office records during its first day in theaters. The horror movie is being advertised as the final installment in the flagship franchise of the interconnected universe, which also includes spinoffs in the Annabelle and The Nun franchises.
Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga have both returned to reprise their original roles as fictionalized versions of real-life demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren. The Conjuring: Last Rites release kicked off in full on September 5, with preview screenings taking place on the evening of Thursday, September 4.
Warner Bros. Pictures has confirmed that The Conjuring: Last Rites took in $8.5 million at the domestic box office during its Thursday previews. This marks the best preview night of the nine-film franchise, as well as the best preview night for a horror movie this year to date, beating out 2025 smash hits including Weapons, Sinners, and Final Destination Bloodlines.
What This Means For The Conjuring: Last Rites
Even though Last Rites has bested all the previous Conjuring movies during its opening night, it remains to be seen if it can break the overall opening weekend record currently held by 2018’s The Nun, which earned a debut of $53.8 million, besting the franchise’s previous high set by the original 2013 The Conjuring ($41.8 million).
This is not necessarily a guarantee. Horror movie releases are typically frontloaded, so they frequently see strong day-to-day drops as the weekend goes along. Current projections show The Conjuring: Last Rites eventually landing a 3-day total somewhere between $35 and $55 million, which leaves a narrow margin for a potential victory over The Nun.
Additionally, the release could be troubled by middling The Conjuring: Last Rites reviews that have earned the movie a Rotten Tomatoes score of 54%. This is not necessarily a demerit, because The Nun had a paltry 24%, but this is still the worst score for any of the four films in the flagship Conjuring franchise.
Previously, The Conjuring earned a Certified Fresh 86%, 2016’s The Conjuring 2 earned a Certified Fresh 80%, and 2021’s The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It earned a Rotten 56%.
Our Take On The Conjuring: Last Rites’ Box Office Previews
Regardless, it’s entirely likely that it’s only a matter of time before The Conjuring: Last Rites becomes one of 2025’s Top 5 horror movies. To do so, it will only have to best The Monkey‘s $68.9 million worldwide haul, which marks less than half of the $206.4 million earned by the lowest-grossing Conjuring movie, The Devil Made Me Do It.
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