After a two-decade hiatus, “The Exorcist: Believer” has returned to theaters, marking the start of a planned trilogy of legacy sequels from Universal, Blumhouse, and Morgan Creek, under the direction of David Gordon Green (known for the “Halloween” series). The film had its first showings during Thursday previews, and box office figures have just come in.

In the United States, “The Exorcist: Believer” garnered $2.85 million on Thursday night across 3,050 theaters, with plans to expand to 3,663 theaters starting today.

Deadline predicts the film could earn anywhere between a solid $20 million to $30 million in total. To put it in perspective, the well-received “Saw X” earned $2 million in Thursday night previews and went on to make $18.3 million during its opening weekend. So, it’s likely that “The Exorcist: Believer” will reach at least $20 million in the days ahead.

However, there’s a catch. Universal spent a significant $400 million to secure the rights to “The Exorcist,” with a production cost of $30 million for “The Exorcist: Believer” itself. Universal is betting heavily on this planned trilogy being a lucrative venture in the long run. Still, they may be concerned given the critical reception and the film’s moderate opening weekend performance.

The question remains: will Universal proceed as planned with “The Exorcist Trilogy,” or might they prematurely halt the project? Only time will tell, and we will be keeping a close eye on the box office numbers in the coming days.

“The Exorcist: Believer” features a plot involving Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.), who, since losing his pregnant wife in a Haitian earthquake, has raised their daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett) on his own. However, when Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia Marcum) vanish in the woods, only to return with no memory of their disappearance, it sets off a series of events that forces Victor to confront true evil. In his desperation, he seeks help from the only person who has faced something similar: Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn).

The screenplay for “Believer” was penned by Peter Sattler (known for “Broken Diamonds”) and David Gordon Green, with a story by Green, Scott Teems (known for “Halloween Kills”), and Danny McBride (known for “Halloween”).

“The Exorcist” franchise has been absent from the big screen since the release of “Dominion: Prequel to The Exorcist” in 2005, which offered an alternate take on “Exorcist: The Beginning” from the previous year. Prior to that, there was “The Exorcist II: The Heretic” in 1977 and “The Exorcist III” in 1990. More recently, “The Exorcist” became a short-lived but highly praised television series on Fox, cleverly set in the same world as the original classic.