Horror flick ‘Insidious 2′ jolts box office with $41 million gross

LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK | Low-budget horror sequel “Insidious: Chapter 2″ grabbed moviegoers searching for a Friday the 13th scare, winning the U.S. and Canadian box office race over The Robert De Niro comedy “The Family.”

The fright flick about a family haunted by spirits pulled in more than $41 million in ticket sales in its first three days, according to studio estimates on Sunday. About $20 million came on its Friday the 13th release date.

“The Family” finished in second place with $14.5 million over the weekend. The movie features De Niro as a mob boss whose family relocates to France under the witness protection program.

Last weekend’s box office champ, sci-fi sequel “Riddick,” fell to third place with $7 million in ticket sales. The movie stars Vin Diesel as an intergalactic traveler who can see in the dark.

Privately held FilmDistrict released “Insidious: Chapter 2″, which was directed by James Wan, who also helmed recent horror hit “The Conjuring”. “The Family” was distributed by privately held Relativity Media. “Riddick” was released by Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp.

source: interaksyon.com

Ghosts beat minions as horror flick ‘The Conjuring’ leads box office

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES – “The Conjuring,” a low-budget horror movie about a haunted farmhouse, spooked two pricey competitors and the “Despicable Me” minions to win a crowded weekend box office contest at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

“Conjuring” soared past forecasts with $41.5 million in domestic ticket sales in its first three days, the highest take among four new films, according to studio estimates. The strong performance from “Conjuring” knocked two-time champion “Despicable Me 2″ to second place with $25.1 million.




Both movies topped the weak results for big-budget entries “Turbo” and “R.I.P.D.,” which both fell short of already low expectations from some box office analysts.

Animated film “Turbo,” the story of a racing snail, landed in the No. 3 slot with $21.5 million from Friday through Sunday. Sci-fi comedy “R.I.P.D.” floundered in seventh with $12.8 million.

“The Conjuring,” produced for just under $20 million, stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as a couple who investigate paranormal activity inside a Rhode Island farmhouse. The movie followed the successful path of other inexpensive horror films such as “Mama” and “The Purge” that grabbed big sales in their opening weekends this year.

“It so overperformed anybody’s wildest expectations,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros’ executive vice president for domestic distribution. “We originally thought if we open in the mid-20s, that’s a strong result and we’d be very happy with that.”

Family audiences kept coming for the animated “Despicable 2,” one of the summer’s biggest hits, which brought its global total through Sunday to $585 million, distributor Universal Pictures said. The film features the voice of Steve Carell as Gru, leader of the singing-and-dancing yellow minions.

Continued interest in “Despicable” stalled the debut of “Turbo,” which features the voice of Ryan Reynolds as a snail that acquires super-fast powers after a freak accident.

The movie, produced by “Shrek” creator DreamWorks Animation, turned in one of the studio’s lowest recent debuts. Its Friday-to-Sunday sales came in below last year’s box office disappointment, the holiday-themed “Rise of the Guardians.”

With a head start on the weekend, “Turbo” added $9.7 million on Wednesday and Thursday at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters, plus $22.6 million from international openings, which only covered about one-quarter of all international markets. DreamWorks spent roughly $135 million to make the film.

“We’re in a very competitive marketplace but we have a ton of summer play time left, so we’ll see,” said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution for 20th Century Fox, the studio that released “Turbo,” speaking to the film’s opening numbers and its prospects.

Aronson said “Turbo” had “very strong openings” internationally, and an A-plus Cinemascore rating from moviegoers under age 25, which he said “bodes very well for its playability,” or future box office prospects.

“R.I.P.D.” was nearly as expensive as “Turbo,” costing Universal Pictures about $130 million. The movie features “Turbo” star Reynolds and Jeff Bridges as lawmen in the “Rest in Peace Department” who come back from the dead to fight crime.

“R.I.P.D.” added $6.8 million in international markets for a global total of $19.6 million through Sunday.

“In this crowded marketplace, R.I.P.D. did not find the size audience it needed and Universal is disappointed in the weekend result,” said Nikki Rocco, president for domestic distribution at Universal Pictures.

Rocco said it was offset by “a fabulous year for Universal,” which has now hit $1 billion at the box office for the year thus far, the earliest date the studio has ever reached that level.

Rounding out the top of the charts, the Adam Sandler comedy “Grown Ups 2″ took the No. 4 slot, pulling in $20 million during its second weekend.

Newcomer “Red 2,” an action comedy aimed at older adults, landed in fifth place with 18.5 million, which studio officials said was in line with their expectations. The film stars Bruce Willis as a retired CIA agent who reunites a group of operatives to track down a missing nuclear device.

“The Conjuring” was released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. “Red 2″ was released by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp, distributed “Despicable Me 2″ and “R.I.P.D.” Sony Corp’s movie studio released “Grown Ups 2.”

source: interaksyon.com

Low-budget horror film ‘The Purge’ scares off ‘Fast & Furious 6′

LOS ANGELES – Low-budget horror film “The Purge” scared up $36.4 million in ticket sales to lead the domestic box office in its first week in domestic theaters, zooming past the car-racing action film “Fast & Furious 6.”

“The Internship,” a comedy starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson based on the antics of nerds in search of a job at internet giant Google, sold $18.1 million worth of tickets to finish fourth, according to studio estimates of sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

The film reunited Vaughn and Wilson who teamed to make “Wedding Crashers” in 2005. That movie generated $209.3 million in domestic ticket sales, according to the site Box Office Mojo.

The duo’s latest effort was projected by industry experts to gross a modest $17 million in ticket sales.

“The Purge,” made for $3 million by the producer of the low-budget “Paranormal Activity” horror series, stars Ethan Hawke and Lena Headey in a futuristic story of the United States in 2022 in which the government reduces crime by allowing almost all crime to go unpunished during a 12-hour “purge” period.

Part science fiction, part horror film, “The Purge” was dismissed by critics but eagerly awaited by horror fans. Industry experts had forecast it would sell $20 million worth of tickets.

Universal Studios’ president for domestic distribution Nikki Rocco attributed the film’s success to its marketing and social media campaign.

Rocco also said that the time was ripe at the box office for a low-budget horror film like “The Purge.”

“The timing was perfect,” she said. “In the last month or two there’s been a definable slot for this kind of movie.”

“Fast & Furious,” the sixth installment of the series starring Vin Diesel racked up $19.8 million to take second place, bringing its total since Memorial Day to nearly $202.9 million domestically and $584.6 million globally. The sixth installment in the billion-dollar franchise takes the action to London, where Diesel and co-star Dwyane Johnson lead their crew on a mission to take down an international ring.

In third place, the comedy heist caper “Now You See Me” continued its stronger-than-expected showing with $19.5 million at North American (U.S. and Canadian) theaters, finishing in third place.

The post-apocalyptic “After Earth,” starring Smith and his teenage son Jaden Smith, continued its weak showing at the U.S. and Canadian box office with $11.2 million. The film has generated $46.6 million in total domestic sales, Will Smith’s weakest performance since the 1993 film “Made in America” that grossed $44.9 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

“After Earth” did perform strongly overseas, opening with $45.5 million in 60 territories over the weekend.

Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures’ president of worldwide distribution, said that Sony was happy with the overseas opening and expects much of the film’s ticket sales to come from international markets.

“It definitely was the exciting start we were looking for internationally,” he said.

The $130 million production takes place 1,000 years after an apocalypse forced humans to escape from Earth. A boy and his father become stranded on the planet after a crash landing.

“The Purge” and “Fast and Furious 6″ were distributed by Universal, a unit of Comcast’s NBC Universal unit. “The Internship” was released by Fox, a unit of News Corp. “Now You See Me” was distributed by Summit Entertainment, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment.

source: interaksyon.com

‘Texas Chainsaw 3D’ cuts down ‘The Hobbit’ to size

LOS ANGELES – Slasher flick “Texas Chainsaw 3D” stole the top slot at the North American box office this weekend, driving “The Hobbit” from its three-week perch in first place, estimates indicated Sunday.

The latest offering in the horror franchise, first launched in 1974 but now in 21st century 3D gore, took in $23 million in its debut weekend, the first of the new year, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

Not far behind in second place was Quentin Tarantino’s brutal Western “Django Unchained,” which earned $20 million it its second week. The film, which has already earned five Golden Globe nominations, is considered a top Oscars contender.

That left “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” the long-awaited first part of Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” prequel trilogy, in third place. It racked up $17.5 million in its fourth week in theaters, for an international grand total of $263.8 million so far.

Another Oscar-tipped movie, “Les Miserables,” took fourth spot, raking in in $16.1 million at the box office in its second week in theaters.

The all-important Academy Award nominations are due to be announced Thursday, January 10.

In fifth place, “Parental Guidance,” a comedy starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler looking after their grandchildren, earned $10.1 million.

Tom Cruise action blockbuster “Jack Reacher,” in which the Hollywood A-lister’s character investigates fictional shootings by a trained military sniper, came in sixth with weekend earnings of $9.3 million.

And Judd Apataw’s comedy “This is 40,” billed as “a sort-of sequel” to the 2007 film romcom “Knocked Up,” stayed just behind with $8.6 million.

In eighth place was Steven Spielberg’s political drama “Lincoln” — another Oscar hopeful which topped the Golden Globe nominations with seven nods — earning $5.3 million on its ninth weekend.

“The Guilt Trip,” about a mother-son road trip starring Barbra Streisand and Seth Rogan, earned $4.5 million, good enough for ninth place.

Joining the top 10 for the first time, with $4.3 million in box office receipts, was “Promised Land,” a drama starring Matt Damon and exploring the booming but controversial drilling process known as fracking.

source: interaksyon.com