JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
This past summer's box office was sluggish, but over the weekend, Hollywood found help thanks to the devil. "The Conjuring: Last Rites" ended up having the top horror movie opening of all time. NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE CONJURING: LAST RITES")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #1: (As character) The devil has come to Pennsylvania.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: In the latest Conjuring movie, paranormal investigators and demonologist Ed and Lorraine Warren are back.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE CONJURING: LAST RITES")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #2: (As character) There's something in the attic.
DEL BARCO: This time, they and their daughter help a terrorized family whose home is haunted.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "THE CONJURING: LAST RITES")
VERA FARMIGA: (As Lorraine Warren) This thing in your house is a demon.
BOBBIE BAGBY FORD: It was so exciting. It was really fun to watch.
DEL BARCO: Bobbie Bagby Ford is president and chief creative officer of B&B Theatres, which operates 58 cinemas around the country, mostly in the Midwest. She says moviegoers were so excited they came in groups and lingered in the lobbies to debrief.
BAGBY FORD: And then we were also seeing on social it blow up and people tagging people to say, you've got to see this. Let's go together. It really changed the trajectory of September, really, this weekend did.
DEL BARCO: Before now, many analysts were predicting a sleepy September at the box office after a somewhat slow summer, even though it kicked off with a bang in May.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "LILO & STITCH")
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR #3: Wow (laughter).
CHRIS SANDERS: (As Stitch, laughing).
DEL BARCO: Disney's live-action remake of "Lilo & Stitch" and the latest installment of Mission: Impossible took in $1.6 billion worldwide combined.
PAUL DERGARABEDIAN: The Memorial weekend was incredible. You had what was called Mission Stitch Possible because two huge movies open on that weekend empowered a record-breaking haul.
DEL BARCO: Paul Dergarabedian is a senior media analyst for Comscore, which specializes in analyzing the box office.
DERGARABEDIAN: So when you have something like that, everyone thinks, wow, we're going to easily get to, let's say, a $4 billion summer, and it just didn't happen. Those are the ups and downs of the box office.
DEL BARCO: He says while there were some bright spots over the summer - the newest "Superman" movie, "Jurassic World Rebirth," "F1" and "Weapons" - other movies just didn't bring as many people to the theaters.
DERGARABEDIAN: Not every movie resonated as many had hoped.
DEL BARCO: Then this past weekend, Warner Bros.' new Conjuring movie made $194 million worldwide on opening weekend.
DANIEL LORIA: It was definitely a surprise that it opened this high.
DEL BARCO: Daniel Loria is senior vice president of the Boxoffice Company, which analyzes data from studios and theaters. He says the movie was big with Hispanic moviegoers, an audience that tends to enjoy watching horror movies and family titles. For "The Conjuring: Last Rites" he says, Latinos represented 40% of the ticket-buyers on opening weekend, mostly in the Southwest. The movie also made $13.3 million in Mexico.
LORIA: I wouldn't discount the faith-based side of a movie like this. I know that sounds a little bit ironic considering it's movies about demons and haunted houses. But at least, you know, I'm Mexican myself, and looking at Mexican culture, we have a lot of lore and a lot of mythology about these sort of stories within our culture, right? I know, you know, whether we look at it in a strictly religious lens or not, the fact that it has this as a backdrop usually has a connection with Hispanic audiences.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
DEL BARCO: Next weekend, the anime movie "Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" could continue the momentum. And looking ahead, Bobbie Bagby Ford says the movie theater business is far from dead.
BAGBY FORD: And the rest of this year looks really fun. So many nights of popcorn-eating opportunities, as well as next year, looks really, really, really strong. And so I think people need to stop writing our obituary and look at all the glimmers of joy that are coming out over the next 24 months.
DEL BARCO: She has high hopes for "Wicked: For Good," "Zootopia 2" and the new Avatar movie "Fire And Ash."
Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF DR. DRE SONG, "THE NEXT EPISODE (FEAT SNOOP DOGG)") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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