‘The Conjuring: Last Rites’ Dominates Advance Sales, Outpacing ‘Baaghi 4’ and ‘The Bengal Files’

Indian audiences are eagerly anticipating the release of three major films this Friday, September 5: the Hollywood horror movie “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” the Hindi action film “Baaghi 4” starring Tiger Shroff and Sanjay Dutt, and Vivek Agnihotri’s political drama “The Bengal Files” featuring Mithun Chakraborty. Hollywood continues to perform well at the Indian box office this year. Global hits like Joseph Kosinski’s F1 starring Brad Pitt, Gareth Edwards’ Jurassic World Rebirth with Scarlett Johansson, and Christopher McQuarrie’s Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, have all exceeded the Rs 100 crore mark in India. Even the horror film Final Destination: Bloodlines managed to gross over Rs 70 crore. Among the upcoming releases, “The Conjuring: Last Rites,” the final instalment of the hugely popular “Conjuring” franchise, has already shown impressive results in advance ticket sales, putting it ahead of the Hindi releases ahead of its September 5 release. “The Conjuring: Last Rites” is currently leading advance ticket sales in India. The horror film has reportedly sold over 80,000 tickets across major cinema chains such as PVR, INOX, and Cinepolis, with projections indicating a Rs 15 crore opening on Friday. In comparison, “Baaghi 4” has recorded Rs 5.21 crore in advance bookings, including Rs 2.43 crore from block bookings. The previous three installments of the Tiger Shroff franchise opened at over Rs 11 crore, Rs 25 crore, and Rs 17 crore respectively. Meanwhile, “The Bengal Files” lags behind, with advance bookings totaling just Rs 45 lakh, including over Rs 30 lakh from block bookings. Though not a franchise film, it is the newest addition to Vivek Agnihotri’s thematic trilogy. For context, “The Tashkent Files” (2019) earned Rs 36 lakh on its opening day, while “The Kashmir Files” (2022) opened at Rs 3.55 crore and became a significant hit.