New Line Cinema pops the champagne corks for morning mimosas and Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson look for those direct deposit bonus checks as horror audiences prove, once again, that there’s nothing like familiar frights to draw a crowd.

“The Conjuring: Last Rites” burst out of the gate Thursday night with a boffo $8 million+ “preview” turnout, and blitzed its way through a nearly $35 million Friday. That added up to an $83 million opening weekend, according to The Numbers

That’s far and away the biggest horror picture opening of 2025, besting the “Final Destination: Bloodlines” ($51) reboot, opening bigger than the critically-acclaimed blockbusters “Weapons”($43) or “Sinners” ($48) or the zombie coda “28 Years Later,” which opened with a $30 million weekend.

Only “It” is in a class of its own, the horror hit above and beyond all other horror hits — $123 million.

Geniune cringe original pictures like “Together” picked up pocket change compared to this recycled, pre-packaged comfort food of frights.

Granted, this box office take is opening weekend frontloaded. “Last Rites” should tail off , and no way in hell will this have the legs of a “Sinners,” which drew all summer long, or “Weapons,” which had a vigorous month in the money.

But there it is. Give the people what they want and they’ll show up no matter how unchallenging. Haunted objects, a would-be exorcist, Vera Farmiga warning us with just a look, a dog barking until the foolish humans figure out they’ve brought demons into their house via a yard sale “find.”

Reviews haven’t been great. It’s long, repetitious, filled with filler scenes that don’t advance the plot, cluttered with new characters who don’t have enough to do and often recycling Big Moments from all the other movies in this extended “universe” genre (“Amityville,” etc.)

“Annabelle,” “Nun” and “Conjuring” pictures have been a collective gold mine for a dozen years now. The first “Conjuring” came out in 2013, “Annabelle” rocketed out of the gate in 2014, and the rest is horror history.

Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson used to turn up in challenging films, big and small. Now, they’re cashing these “Conjuring” checks and shrugging.

The re-release of “Hamilton,” a filmed version of the original Broadway cast play, shows up on the big screen years after Disney streamed it (in the pandemic lockdown). it cleared $10 million.

That came in second, with “Weapons” (over $5) in third, “Freakier Friday” ($3.8) fourth and “Caught Stealing” (over $3) in fifth.

Nothing else opens wide this weekend, with “Twinless” on over 500 screens and destined to earn under $1 million,. The delightful “Baltimorons” didn’t open wide enough to make the top ten. But

But the upbeat Christian cartoon “Light of the World” racked up over $2 million and came in ninth.

With the “Jaws” re-release now past Labor Day and “Fantastic Four: First Steps” (seventh place) gassed, those two will drop out of the top five thanks to this “new” blockbuster. “Nobody 2” and “Toxic Avenger” also dropped out of the top ten.