Weekend box office: The Conjuring beats out R.I.P.D., Turbo and Red 2

Brad Sturdivant July 21st, 2013

Weekend box office The Conjuring

Horror movies are a lot like kids movies when it comes to their performance at the weekend box office. If a studio can time it just right and release their movie when it doesn’t have any competition, they can usually find success. Such is the case with THE CONJURING, which…conjured up…almost $40 million this weekend thanks in large part to the fact there were no other horror movies at the theater. It also helped that the new movies opening this weekend were movies that had almost zero appeal to the American movie going audience. Ryan Reynolds is already a box office disaster, but now he has the distinction of being in two box office bombs opening on the same weekend in R.I.P.D. and the animated TURBO. I don’t know if he’s not choosing his roles wisely or if he just has bad luck, but I can’t imagine Hollywood continuing their patience with him. As for RED 2, well America has spoken; we’re sick of seeing old people in action movies.

Next week sees Hugh Jackman return to the screen in THE WOLVERINE. Of all the movies this summer, THE WOLVERINE is the one I really hope does well and is actually a good film. Hugh Jackman has given a lot of dedication to that character and he deserves to play him in a good movie. We also get Aubrey Plaza’s long delayed sex comedy THE TO-DO LIST, which will probably be a sleeper hit, but not a box office smash. We also get Woody Allen’s latest effort, BLUE JASMINE, which has no business being released in the summer. Note: the numbers below will be updated as they become final.

1. The Conjuring $41.5m

2. Despicable Me 2 $25m

3. Turbo $21.5m

4. Grown-Ups 2 $20m

5. Red 2 $18.5m

6. Pacific Rim $15.9m

7. R.I.P.D. $12.7m

8. The Heat $9.3m

9. World War Z $5.2m

10. Monsters University $5m

(Deadline)