It’s hard to find a critic who has anything good to say about Exorcist: The Beginning, but that didn’t stop people from paying to see it. The prequel to the Exorcist brought in $18 million this weekend at the North American box office, surpassing estimates by the studios.

The movie was originally made by director Paul Schrader, but Warner Bros. got Renny Harlin to reshoot it almost entirely, to make it scarier.

Without a Paddle, starring Seth Green, made $13.7 million in its debut.

The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement fell to number three with $13.2 million in box office sales, while Alien vs. Predator sunk to number four with $12.5 million.

Open Water, in its first weekend of wide release, improved to fifth with $11.8 million. It has become one of the summer’s surprise hits.






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