LOS ANGELES – Leave it to Ed and Lorraine Warren to scare away whatever has been bedevilling the box office.

The Conjuring: Last Rites, the ninth chapter in a horror movie series based on the Warrens, real-life paranormal sleuths, sold an estimated US$83 million (S$106 million) in tickets in the United States and Canada from Sept 4 through Sept 7 – roughly 65 per cent more than analysts had predicted before its release.

Overseas, Last Rites arrived to an outstanding US$104 million in ticket sales, for a worldwide opening total of US$187 million, according to Comscore, which compiles box office data. The film cost New Line Cinema, a Warner Bros division, roughly US$55 million to make, not including marketing.

The stronger-than-expected results highlighted the franchise management expertise of New Line and The Conjuring producers, notably Peter Safran and James Wan.

Their adroit handling of the series has drawn comparisons to the manner in which Marvel Studios painstakingly built an interconnected “universe” of superhero films over 11 years, culminating in a megawatt finale, Avengers: Endgame, in 2019.

Last Rites was similarly marketed as an ending, although plans to expand the franchise in new ways – without the lead actors, Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson – are well underway behind the scenes.

“We built this story around the Warrens for a dozen years, and it allowed audiences to become truly attached to Ed and Lorraine,” Safran said in a text message. “The ‘finale’ aspect definitely drew in an even wider swath of the audience than was anticipated.”

Last Rites unexpectedly jump-started the box office after a slower summer than Hollywood had anticipated. Multiplexes in North America had their worst summer since 1981, after adjusting for inflation and excluding the Covid-19 pandemic years, when many cinemas were closed for long periods.

Some box office analysts blamed studios for serving up a tepid slate of sequels, reboots, remakes and spinoffs. Others pointed to changes in audience behaviour: People are increasingly willing to wait a few weeks for films to appear on a streaming service or digital rental platform instead of enduring the hassle and expense of visiting a cinema.

Marketing difficulties may have also contributed to sluggish ticket sales. Reaching a mass audience with ads for new movies has become harder, a result of media fragmentation.

Some studios have been more successful than others in navigating these challenges.

Warner Bros and its various divisions, for instance, have now delivered seven No. 1 movies in a row. After struggling early in the year, Warner Bros flickered to life in April with A Minecraft Movie, which was followed by Sinners, Final Destination: Bloodlines, F1: The Movie, Superman, Weapons and now Last Rites.

“All of this was part of executing on a strategy of a diverse slate,” Ms Pam Abdy, co-chair of Warner Bros Motion Picture Group, said in a phone interview.

She gave a shoutout in particular to New Line, which is run by Mr Richard Brener, for “leaning in to IP that has worked before”, a reference to intellectual property, “and trying to reinvigorate it a little bit”. New Line was also behind Final Destination: Bloodlines, the sixth chapter in a series.

With an estimated US$83 million in North American ticket sales, Last Rites set an opening-weekend record for The Conjuring series, even when adjusting for inflation. The previous record was set by an instalment called The Nun, which arrived to an adjusted US$70 million in 2018.

“We’re all giddy,” Ms Abdy said with a laugh. “I’ve been tap dancing through my house a little bit.” NYTIMES