Exorcist II: The Heretic with the idea of directing a sequel, explaining that "every film has to struggle to find a connection with its audience. Here I saw the chance to make an extremely ambitious film without having to spend the time developing this connection. I could make assumptions and then take the audience on a very adventurous cinematic journey." Linda Blair agreed to reprise her role of Regan MacNeil for "Exorcist II", but refused to wear demon make-up (a double was used for the brief flashback scenes depicting a demonic Regan). Max von Sydow was persuaded by Boorman to reprise the role of
The Exorcist (film) on the Blu-ray release), the sequels "" and "The Exorcist III", and the prequels "" and "". The film earned $66.3 million in distributors' domestic (US/CAN) rentals during its theatrical release in 1974, becoming the second most popular film of that year (trailing "The Sting"). After several reissues, the film eventually grossed $232,671,011 in North America, which if adjusted for inflation, would be the ninth highest-grossing film of all time and the top-grossing R-rated film of all time. To date, it has a total gross of $441,071,011 worldwide. Adjusted to 2014 prices, "The Exorcist" has grossed $1.794 billion. Stanley Kauffmann,