Exorcist: The Beginning then allowed Warner Bros. to release Schrader's version theatrically under the title "". It had a more limited release in May 2005, and received slightly better critical notices than Harlin's version. William Peter Blatty (the author/screenwriter of "The Exorcist") said that watching "Exorcist: The Beginning" was his "most humiliating professional experience." On the other hand, Blatty said that "Dominion" is "a handsome, classy, elegant piece of work." Critical responses to "Exorcist: The Beginning" were mostly negative, with the film earning a low 11% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Prominent critic Roger Ebert wrote, "I've seen both versions and much prefer
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,