It appears that filmgoers wanted to be frightened over the weekend.
The Conjuring scared its way to the top spot at the box office over the weekend, opening with $41.5 million. The haunted-house thriller from Warner Bros. and James Wan is a true horror film, offering up plenty of thrills and chills. It’s the second horror film this year to debut strongly with The Purge opening with over $36 million last month.
After taking the top spot the last two weeks, Despicable Me 2 fell to second with $25 million. The animated film from Universal has grossed over $276 million.
The latest from DreamWorks Animation, Turbo, debuted with $21.5 million, good enough for third, and has earned $31 million since opening on Wednesday. The film revolves around a snail who through a freak accident gets the gift and speed and competes in the Indy 500 is ridiculous but a lot of fun.
Sony’s Grown Ups 2 earned $20 million to take fourth, while Summit Entertainment’s Red 2 rounded out the top five after opening with $18.5 million. The sequel involving retired CIA agents isn’t quite as good as the first but is still fun and features a great cast.
The fourth film opening over the weekend, Universal’s R.I.P.D., opened in seventh with a disappointing $12.76 million, making it this summer’s latest big-budget flop alongside Pacific Rim, After Earth, The Lone Ranger and White House Down.
The biggest opening this weekend is The Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman. This film, which will hopefully be better than that other Wolverine piece of crap, should easily claim the top spot.