The Conjuring: Last Rites makes huge debut at North America box office

The Conjuring: Last Rites, the latest in the popular horror film franchise about a couple of real-life paranormal investigators, debuted atop the North American box office with a whopping US$83 million (S$106.7 million) in ticket sales, industry estimates showed Sunday (Sep 7).

The Warner Bros film once again stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren, who this time are doing battle with a demon in a family's home.

"This is a smash," said analyst David A Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. "Horror fans can't get enough of Lorraine and Ed Warren."

In second place was Disney's film version of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton, which earned a respectable US$10 million, according to Exhibitor Relations – despite being available on its streaming channel in 2020.

Gross called it an "excellent number", considering the film is widely available to Disney+ subscribers.

Buzzy horror flick Weapons – one of the success stories of the summer box office, about the mysterious disappearance of a group of children from the same school class – came in third at $5.4 million.

Weapons has so far made US$143 million in the United States and Canada, and another US$108 million abroad, according to Exhibitor Relations. 

Disney's Freakier Friday, the much-anticipated sequel to the 2003 body-swapping family film which again stars Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, finished in fourth place at US$3.8 million.

And Caught Stealing, a crime flick from Sony starring Austin Butler and Zoe Kravitz, dropped to fifth place at US$3.2 million.