Despite topping its predecessors in Thursday night previews, Annabelle: Creation is still expected to be the lowest grossing film in its opening frame in the franchise, behind The Conjuring ($41.2 million), The Conjuring 2 ($40.4 million) and Annabelle ($37.1 million).
The tally for Annabelle: Creation makes it the biggest opener in The Conjuring universe so far, ahead of The Conjuring 2 ($3.4 million), The Conjuring ($3.3 million), and Annabelle ($2.1 million).
The film has a reported budget of $15 million, which is far below many of its summer movie box office competitors.
Following the massive box office success of Annabelle globally (it made $256.8 million globally on a $6.5 million budget), the studio got to work on Annabelle: Creation, a prequel that would examine the creation of the doll and how it came to attract demonic spirits.