ʻAnnabelleʼ may conjure hit
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Can an evil doll save the domestic box office during an otherwise ghastly month? No, not really, but New Line Cinema's horror prequel "Annabelle: Creation" should breathe some life into the listless August box office, with a debut of at least $25 million.
A strong opening would be a relief after a particularly bruising weekend for domestic multiplexes, as the top 10 films collectively grossed $105 million in the U.S. and Canada, less than half the $218 million tally from the comparable weekend last year, according to ComScore. ("Suicide Squad" led the prior-year weekend with its $133 million launch.) The meager charge was led by Sony Pictures' and Media Rights Capital's long-awaited Stephen King adaptation "The Dark Tower," which collected a soft $19 million.
Domestic ticket sales this year are down 3 percent.
With "Annabelle: Creation," Warner Bros. and New Line may add another hit to their successful horror series based on 2013's "The Conjuring," which introduced a possessed doll that terrorizes families. The relatively low-budget "Conjuring" movies and spinoffs, loosely based on the stories of real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, have grossed nearly $900 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
"Annabelle: Creation" is a prequel and origin story leading into 2014's spinoff "Annabelle," which was itself a prequel to the original "Conjuring" movie directed by James Wan. "Creation" is directed by David F. Sandberg, whose feature debut was last year's surprise hit "Lights Out," based on his short film that went viral on YouTube. "Lights Out," made for $5 million, opened with $21.7 million in the U.S. and Canada, and ended up with $149 million in global ticket sales.
A $25 million debut for "Annabelle: Creation" would be a solid result for a movie that cost about $15 million to make. Counting in the new movie's favor are its generally positive reviews (82 percent "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes), something that couldn't be said for the first "Annabelle" (29 percent). There's also a conspicuous lack of direct competition from other studio products at theaters.
As Open Road courts families, Lionsgate's "The Glass Castle" will target grown-up moviegoers with a midsize release on about 1,400 screens. Analysts expect the film, starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson and Naomi Watts, to collect about $5 million through Sunday.