Will The Exorcist: Believer sequels be cancelled? Could Deceiver and third movie be scrapped after bad reviews

The Exorcist: Believer is supposed to be the start of a rebooted Exorcist trilogy sequel, taking place 50 years after the events of the first film and erasing all other instalments in the franchise.

However, with the reviews now out, it looks like the fresh start producers were hoping for might have fallen at the first hurdle, as Believer has failed to excite critics. 

Last month the film’s release date was changed to avoid a clash with the Taylor Swift Eras concert movie, but it seems that even without the competition, the horror flick could struggle to do well at the box office.

With plenty of cash already sunk into the project, Universal are banking on the film being a Halloween hit, but it could turn out to be a horror story for the studio.

What do The Exorcist: Believer reviews say?

Reviews for The Exorcist: Believer are in and they are pretty scathing - The Independent called the new sequel ‘boring’ and ‘self-serious’, whilst Digital Spy said that it failed to live up to Friedkin’s original. 

The Sun was marginally kinder, claiming that the first two thirds of the movie were ‘surprisingly good’ but adding that the remainder is ‘eye-rollingly silly’. The Guardian didn’t hold back, calling Believer a ‘soulless cash grab’ and stating that Ellen Burstyn’s role was wasted. The Telegraph was particularly brutal, remarking ‘even Satan seemed asleep on the job’.

The film currently has a paltry 21% critics rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes. This compares to Saw X, which has an 83% rating, and Insidious: The Red Door, which is on 38%.

But, reviews aren’t everything, and plenty of films have been panned by critics only to set the box office on fire - among them Suicide Squad, Jurassic World: Dominion, and, of course, Fifty Shades of Grey.

What was the budget for The Exorcist: Believer?

The Exorcist sequel was made on a $30 million budget, which is already quite high as horror movies go - because they tend to reach a much smaller audience than more mainstream movies, horror productions often try to keep costs low.

However, Universal, in a deal with Peacock, also paid a whopping $400 million for distribution rights to the franchise back in 2021, which made the success of the planned sequel trilogy a major gamble for the studio.

Assuming the two planned sequels have the same $30 million budget, the franchise would need to make $500 million just to break even, and that’s not factoring in the marketing costs, which are generally around half again the film’s production budget. 

The first film is expected to make $30 million in its opening weekend - and if Believer hits this target in spite of the overwhelmingly negative reviews, then it will set the sequels in good stead. However, if Believer bombs, Universal may decide to cancel the two planned sequels rather than sink even more money into a lost cause.

Have The Exorcist: Believer sequels been cancelled?

Initially, Believer was slated to set up a new Exorcist trilogy, with  the second film, Deceiver, scheduled for an April 2025 release, and an as yet untitled third instalment coming some time after.

Currently, Universal has not suggested that the sequels will be cancelled, and with the first only just hitting cinemas, it’s too early to determine how well it will perform at the box office. If the film meets or surpasses the $30 million opening weekend, it’s likely that the sequels will go ahead, but if Believer is a major flop, the next two movies could be in trouble.