The Conjuring: Last Rites, the final instalment of the hugely popular horror franchise, beat A Harsha’s Baaghi 4 and Vivek Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files at the box office on Friday.
According to industry data-tracking portal Sacnilk, Last Rites earned Rs 18 crore nett in India on Day 1, making it the biggest opener in the franchise, dethroning The Conjuring 2 (2016), which raked in Rs 7 crore nett on its opening day.
The English version of Last Rites registered an occupancy rate of 61 per cent while the Hindi version reported 49.61 per cent occupancy.
The Conjuring universe, which began in 2013, revolves around two real-life paranormal investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren, as they confront various cases of supernatural phenomena and demonic hauntings. The trailer for The Conjuring: Last Rites shows Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine Warren (Vera Farmiga) taking on their darkest and last case yet.
In comparison, Baaghi 4, starring Tiger Shroff and Sanjay Dutt, collected Rs 12 crore nett on Day 1, as per Sacnilk. The film had an overall occupancy rate of 28.32 per cent on Friday.
Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, Baaghi 4 is the fourth instalment in the popular action franchise, which began in 2016, with Tiger and Shraddha in the lead roles. The sequel, which released in 2018, starred Disha Patani and Manoj Bajpayee alongside Tiger, and amassed Rs 259 crore at the box office. Baaghi 3, which hit screens in 2020, marked the return of Shraddha Kapoor in the role of Sia.
Agnihotri’s The Bengal Files, featuring Mithun Chakraborty and Pallvi Joshi, is miles behind the other two films, with Day 1 collection of only Rs 1.74 crore nett.
Meanwhile, Sidharth Malhotra and Janhvi Kapoor-starrer Param Sundari began its second week in theatres with its lowest daily collection so far. The Tushar Jalota-directed romcom earned Rs 1.45 crore nett on Friday, taking its nine-day domestic haul to Rs 41.7 crore nett.