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How death, near-misses and drinking combined to make ‘cursed’ Exorcist II one of the biggest film flops of all time
By Extra Extra Editorial
Cross-spectrum analysis, synthesized with AI from 2 sources · Updated
Exorcist II, the 1977 sequel to the original horror classic, became one of cinema's most notorious commercial and critical failures despite significant studio investment. The production was plagued by a series of tragic incidents, accidents, and personal crises affecting cast and crew members, which observers at the time attributed to a supposed curse. Beyond the on-set misfortunes, the film also struggled with creative and logistical problems that undermined its theatrical performance and lasting reputation.
NBC News included this story in weekend news roundups, treating the film's troubled production history as an interesting cultural artifact worth brief mention alongside other notable events. The coverage positions the narrative as entertainment trivia rather than a deeper examination of production failures.
The Sun's coverage emphasizes the dramatic and sensational elements of the production's misfortunes, using language that plays up the 'cursed' narrative and the human toll of the various incidents. This framing leans into the supernatural mystique and tabloid appeal of the story, treating the convergence of death, accidents, and substance abuse as the central dramatic tension.
Key Differences
- NBC treats the story as minor entertainment news, while The Sun leads with sensational framing of the 'curse' narrative
- Coverage emphasis differs between brief cultural reference versus detailed exploration of production disasters and their human consequences
How this story is being covered
Extra Extra has grouped 2 reports on this story from 2 news outlets across the political spectrum. By political lean, that breaks down as 1 left-leaning and 1 right-leaning sources.
Its coverage-diversity score of 63 out of 100 means the story is being reported across multiple parts of the spectrum, though the volume leans toward one side. Interestingly, the story is being covered on the left and the right but not by the centrist outlets we track — a sign it may be more polarizing than consensus-driven.
On reliability, 1 of the 2 rated outlets carry a high or mostly-factual reliability rating (A or B) and 1 outlet fall into our mixed or lower-reliability tier (C or D). Ratings are drawn from independent assessments and are meant to help you weigh each report, not to tell you which to trust.
Below, the same story is laid out side by side as left, center, and right outlets reported it. Read across the columns and watch what changes: the headline emphasis, which facts lead, the adjectives, and what each side leaves out. The story itself rarely changes — the framing almost always does.
Outlets covering this story: NBC News, The Sun (UK).
Left(1)
Center(0)
Right(1)
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