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Summer is when Hollywood usually puts out its biggest blockbusters. July and August are packed with movies chasing huge box office numbers. By September, things normally slow down. But this year is different. But this year’s September is different. Horror sequels, anime juggernauts, and even a classic rock mockumentary are proving that the box office doesn’t always follow the calendar.
So how do the box office numbers shake out? And more importantly, how do they compare to the big titles from July and August? Let’s dig in.
September Releases
The Conjuring: Last Rites – September 5
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson
Director: Michael Chaves
The Conjuring series has been around for more than ten years, and Last Rites was promoted as the “final chapter.” That idea alone brought fans to theaters.
Last Rites itself carried a larger $55 million budget, the highest yet for the franchise, but with its strong start it’s already well on track to clear the $140 million worldwide it needs to be profitable. Like the earlier Conjuring titles, most of its money will likely come from overseas markets, which have historically contributed about two-thirds of the total.
It didn’t break records, but it also didn’t stumble. That’s key. Horror tends to hold steady if word of mouth is decent, and Last Rites proved audiences aren’t done with the Warrens just yet.
Compared to August’s Freakier Friday, which leaned on family-friendly nostalgia, The Conjuring: Last Rites proved that horror franchises can also tap into long-term fan loyalty. Both played the nostalgia card, but in different ways—one with laughs and legacy casting, the other by promising a showdown for characters audiences have followed for more than a decade.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle – September 12
Cast: Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kitō (voices)
Director: Haruo Sotozaki
The real box office story of September belongs to Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. The film opened with a massive $47 million domestic debut, making it the top performer of the month and one of the strongest anime releases ever in North America. That opening put it ahead of August hits like Freakier Friday ($42M) and Nobody 2 ($38M), and on certain days it even challenged Weapons’ July numbers.
Crunchyroll and Sony didn’t treat this like just another release—they made it an event. Premium-priced “Ultra tier” showings, cosplay-heavy premieres, and fan-driven online hype boosted blockbuster territory.
Anime films used to be seen as niche, but Infinity Castle proved otherwise. With global audiences driving demand, the movie is already pacing to clear well over $100 million worldwide in its first couple of weeks. Domestically, this opening also gave a big lift to the overall marketplace. The weekend total box office hit $124 million, nearly double the $64 million from the previous weekend.
Downton Abbey: Grand Finale – September 12
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Maggie Smith
Director: Simon Curtis
Not every movie needs to open with fireworks to be a success. Downton Abbey: Grand Finale debuted with a modest $15 million, which was exactly in line with projections. The franchise has always leaned on an older, loyal audience, and that showed here—weekday matinees and early evening shows accounted for a strong portion of the gross..
It may not have the flash of Demon Slayer or Conjuring, but this is a reliable performance. It shows there’s still room for a quieter kind of film at the box office—one that plays steady instead of burning out fast.
Spinal Tap II – September 12
Cast: Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Harry Shearer
Director: Rob Reiner
Talk about a curveball. Spinal Tap II opened to $11 million. That’s small compared to the rest, but for a comedy sequel with a cult following, it’s actually solid. Production costs were low, and the nostalgia factor worked.
This isn’t a movie chasing box office glory. Its real win is cultural. The fact that it pulled people into theaters at all proves comedies can still play if they’re packaged like events instead of afterthoughts.
Summer Benchmarks: Weapons, Freakier Friday, Nobody 2
July and August gave us three clear benchmarks:
- Weapons (July 26): Opened with $52 million and has since gone on to gross about $142 million domestic and $275 million worldwide. Strong word of mouth and awards buzz have given it long legs, making it the biggest summer holdover heading into September.
- Freakier Friday (August 9): Started with $42 million and pushed past $105 million domestic and $220 million worldwide. It leaned on family-friendly nostalgia and kept steady through repeat weekend business, proving these kinds of comedies still work in theaters.
- Nobody 2 (August 16): Nobody 2 didn’t hit those heights but still proved the franchise’s appeal, opening with $9.3 million and reaching about $21.6 million domestic and $39.2 million worldwide.
These titles set the bar high, especially Weapons, which has had legs thanks to awards chatter.
September vs. Summer
When you put September’s openers against July and August’s standouts, the picture becomes clear:
- Weapons (Summer) – Opened with $52M, and has climbed to $147.5M domestic / $259.6M worldwide. It’s the biggest total earner of the bunch and the summer’s true benchmark.
- The Conjuring: Last Rites (September) – Shocked the market with an $83M opening weekend, the best in franchise history and the top horror debut of the year. While totals are still coming in, it already beat every summer movie in terms of opening size.
- Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (September) – Launched with $47M domestic, outpacing Freakier Friday ($42M) and Nobody 2 ($9.3M). It hasn’t caught Weapons yet, but its worldwide rollout is expected to push totals much higher in the coming weeks.
- Freakier Friday (Summer) – Opened with $42M, now at $91.1M domestic / $148.2M worldwide. Strong legs for a family comedy, but its opening is smaller than both Conjuring and Demon Slayer.
- Nobody 2 (Summer) – Started at $9.3M and reached $21.6M domestic / $39.2M worldwide. By comparison, it’s the weakest of both seasons, overshadowed by September’s bigger titles.
- Downton Abbey: Grand Finale (September) – Debuted with $15M, which is smaller than the summer benchmarks but right in line with expectations for a period drama.
- Spinal Tap II (September) – Opened at $11M, modest but respectable for a niche comedy sequel.
The Takeaway
- September Wins: The Conjuring: Last Rites actually had a bigger opening weekend than any summer film, showing the power of horror as an event genre.
- Biggest Signal: Demon Slayer proved anime can now stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Hollywood blockbusters, beating out summer hits like Freakier Friday and Nobody 2.
- Steady Players: Downton Abbey and Spinal Tap II don’t compete with totals but deliver steady returns in their niches, just as Nobody 2 did in August.
Final Take
What September 2025 really showed is that the box office numbers thrive on balance. Summer brought the prestige and tentpoles with Weapons and Freakier Friday, but September countered with its own mix: a record-breaking horror finale, an anime blockbuster, and smaller films that proved there’s still space for period dramas and cult comedies.
Openings can come from anywhere—an R-rated scare, a Japanese anime epic, or even a long-delayed sequel. And that’s the story here: audiences don’t just want more movies, they want different kinds of movies. September delivered that variety, and in doing so, it made itself matter.