Saw director James Wan's The Conjuring scored a $41 million debut this weekend, marking the second highest opening ever for an R-rated movie. The horror film was helped by some pretty great reviews (85% Fresh) and good word of mouth (A- CinemaScore) from audiences who aren't afraid to rate horror flicks from C to F if they don't like it. It will probably hold strong in the coming weeks to make at least $100 million. The other openings of the week were less impressive, with Red 2 hauling in $18 million, which is $3 million less than the original's debut in 2010, and R.I.P.D., with Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges, flopped hard, earning just $12 million for a film with a $150 million dollar budget, and not even making the top 5. The other new release on this crowded weekend was the Dreamworks animated film Turbo, which fell victim to Despicable Me's continued dominance in the family film arena, and earned a soft $21 million.
Top 5
- The Conjuring- $41.5 million
- Despicable Me 2- $25 million
- Turbo- $21.5 million
- Grown Ups 2- $20 million
- Red 2- $18 million
The holdovers continue to do well, with Despicable Me 2 amounting a huge $276 million total so far and well on its way to over $300 million, while Grown Ups 2 is at $79 million and likely to cross $100 as well. Unfortunately, Pacific Rim fell 57% since last week and looks unlikely to impress much in its domestic gross, but overseas totals are still to come on that one. Next week, it's a pretty open weekend for Hugh Jackman with The Wolverine, and Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine (with an apparently Oscar-buzzy performance from Cate Blanchett) coming out in limited release.
