The Exorcist: Believer Box Office Falls Short Of $30 M Expectation (& WAY Behind Halloween 2018)

The Exorcist: Believer is suffering at the box office in its opening weekend. Believer, which is the sixth in the franchise that began with the 1973 classic The Exorcist, brings back original star Ellen Burstyn to reprise the role of Chris MacNeil, the mother of formerly possessed girl Regan (Linda Blair). The movie, which is the first in an intended new Exorcist trilogy, follows MacNeil being approached by a desperate young father named Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) when his daughter and her friend both begin to exhibit signs of demonic possession.

Per Variety, the Exorcist: Believer box office is taking a hit in its opening weekend. Although it was projected to gross $30 million, the movie is currently set to fall short of that goal with a $28 million 3-day total. This is not considerably behind the initial projections for the weekend, but either total falls far short of Blumhouse’s last trilogy-kickstarting legacy sequel from The Exorcist: Believer director David Gordon Green, Halloween 2018, which grossed $76.2 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, more than double Believer‘s highest projections.

Is the New Exorcist Trilogy Safe?

While The Exorcist: Believer is falling behind, it has still nearly made back its entire $30 million production budget at the domestic box office. However, in order for it to turn a profit it will need to make at least twice that much. While international grosses should help the movie reach that goal, it will also have to weather its upcoming week 2 drop, which is typically rather severe for new horror movies.

There is also the matter that Universal and Peacock paid $400 million for the Exorcist distribution rights, a massive total that was likely intended to be recouped by the blockbuster success of three new Exorcist movies. Despite the Exorcist: Believer cast including a legacy character who hasn’t returned to the franchise in 50 years, the movie does not seem poised to kickstart a new trilogy that is capable of that kind of box office might. However, Blumhouse has a second chance with The Exorcist: Deceiver, a sequel that is already set for an April 18, 2025 release date.

If that movie experiences diminishing returns after the The Exorcist: Believer release, however, the future of the third movie may be in jeopardy. In order to prevent more losses, the third movie may be removed from the slate entirely. This possibility has been set up by the fact that, unlike the Halloween trilogy back in 2018, only one more Exorcist movie has been given an official title and date at this time, and David Gordon Green has also revealed he is not yet officially attached to further entries.