(CNN) — Getting an early jump on the upcoming horror film slate, “The Conjuring: Last Rites” topped the weekend domestic box office while shattering analysts’ expectations with an $83 million haul.

Industry analysts expected the ninth release of “The Conjuring” universe to earn around $50 million. Its bigger-than-expected opening made “Last Rites” the best opening for the franchise, surpassing 2018’s “The Nun” ($53.8 million), and also made it the third-highest opening for a horror movie, behind 2017’s “It” ($123.4 million) and 2019’s “It: Chapter Two” ($91 million).

Both “It” movies and “The Conjuring: Last Rites” were released by Warner Bros. Pictures. Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.

“‘The Conjuring’ represents true, pure horror. The true horror movie experience

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