The Exorcist

The Exorcist is an American horror media franchise that originated with William Peter Blatty's 1971 horror novel (itself inspired by the 1949 exorcism of Roland Doe) and most prominently featured in a 1973 film adaptation of the novel, spawned many subsequent prequels and sequels although none of them (excluding the television series) compared positively to the original. All of these installments focus on fictional accounts of people possessed by Pazuzu, the main antagonist of the series, and the efforts of religious authorities to counter this possession.
The films have grossed over $661 million at the worldwide box office and the novel has sold over 13 million copies. 20th Century Fox Television developed a 2016 television series as a continuation of the 1973 film, to generally positive reviews. In 2020, a reboot of the film series, which was later changed to a direct sequel to the 1973 film, was announced to be in development with David Gordon Green as director. Produced by Blumhouse Productions, the film, titled The Exorcist: Believer was released by Universal Pictures on October 6, 2023. The film did not meet box-office expectations and plans for a trilogy were scrapped in favor of The Exorcist: Martyrs with Mike Flanagan as director.