It was a horrific weekend at the local multiplex. And as we’ve learned repeatedly this year, there’s money in fear.
Insidious Chapter 2 made a frighteningly lucrative play for the box office crown, scaring an estimated $41.1 million from moviegoers to exorcise all competitors and become the second-highest grossing September release of all time (just behind last year’s Hotel Transylvania). It also capped a strong 2013 for director James Wan: Sure, the guy cut his teeth on the first Saw movie, which introduced the term “torture porn” to the masses. But with this flick and July’s The Conjuring (which earned $135.4 million at the box office), Wan has shown he can take PG-13 frightfests to the top of the charts, too.
Another newcomer, The Family, finished second with $14.5 million. The Robert De Niro-fronted gangster action comedy met expectations, but it certainly wasn’t enough to frighten the top dog.
Riddick, last week’s champ, fell more than 60% and finally tumbled to a stop in third place, surrounded by nasty CGI beasties with largish stingers. It earned about $7 million to bring up its 10-day total to $31.3 mil.
The Butler, meanwhile, earned $5.6 million this weekend for a fourth-place finish and officially crossed over the $100 million threshold for its theatrical run—the 23rd movie to do so. Also in the $100 mil club: We’re the Millers, which has earned $131.6 million so far and still growing. It added another $5.4 million to its total this weekend to finish fifth.
Final figures for these films will be posted here later today or as soon as they’re released.
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