William Peter Blatty‘s novel had spent 57 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list — 17 of them at number one — before a single frame was filmed. The whole country knew the story. Blatty spent years trying to convince Warner Bros. to let William Friedkin make it. The budget started at $4 million. Warner Bros. eventually said yes to $12 million. They scheduled 85 days to shoot. It took over 200.
Friedkin had the possession scenes filmed on a set refrigerated to 20 degrees below zero — he needed the cast’s breath to show on camera — and the temperature was so extreme they could only shoot for 15 minutes at a time before the lights warmed the air enough to stop. Linda Blair was 13 when filming began. She’d go on to get an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Nine deaths were connected to the production. Ellen Burstyn confirmed that number herself. The film had cost nearly 3 times its budget before a single person had paid to see it. The belief that “The Exorcist” was cursed has never fully gone away.
Warner Bros put it out on December 26, 1973 — the day after Christmas — in only 24 theaters. They weren’t expecting much. No major stars, a blown budget, and a horror movie at a time when studios didn’t take horror seriously. But when they booked those 24 theaters, they did something no major Hollywood studio had ever tried. Normally studios split ticket revenue with theaters — the studio took the bigger share, but theaters always kept something. Warner Bros didn’t do that. They paid each theater a flat fee to rent the whole place and kept every single dollar of ticket revenue themselves. It had only ever been done for wildlife documentaries and exploitation films. Warner Bros gambled their way into owning the entire upside.
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The upside turned out to be enormous. People came out in the cold and stood in lines around the block. People came back more than once. People fainted in the aisles, vomited in their seats, and ran for the exits. Some theaters had ambulances parked outside. Some put barf bags out at the concession stand. Religious groups stood on the pavement handing out leaflets with phone numbers for anyone who needed to talk to someone after they got home. A psychiatric journal published a paper on what it called “cinematic neurosis” — people who couldn’t quite shake what they’d seen once they left. The Associated Press ran a cartoon of a couple being told the film was sold out but “we’re selling tickets to the lobby to watch the audience.” The film wasn’t just a movie. It was a public event.
The Exorcist made $193 million in its original run and $441 million over its whole life. It was the first horror film ever nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. It won for Best Adapted Screenplay. Adjusted for inflation, it’s still Warner Bros’ biggest film ever — ahead of every Harry Potter film, every Batman film, and everything they’ve ever made. Two years later, Universal opened Jaws on 500 screens across the country at once. The wide-release blockbuster strategy that still shapes how every major film gets released traces directly back to the film people were fainting to see.
The Film That Changed Everything
“The Exorcist” is in the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress. It’s on Max right now. William Friedkin died in August 2023 at 87. He spent the rest of his life defending the film and never stopped thinking it was the best thing he’d ever done. The ambulances are gone. The barf bags are gone. The lines around the block are gone. The film still works.
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