‘Conjuring’ spinoff debuts with series-best $53.8 million
Warner Bros. claimed the top two spots at the box office (and three of the top five) this past weekend, marking its fifth consecutive week at the top of the charts.
In first place, New Line Cinema’s horror spinoff “The Nun,” based on a character introduced in the successful “Conjuring” franchise, opened with a series-best $53.8 million, according to figures from measurement firm Comscore.
The picture, which cost about $22 million to make, came in well above analyst predictions of $36 million, a strong start for the fall movie season.
“The Conjuring,” released in 2013, and its spinoffs (including a sequel, the “Annabelle” films and now “The Nun”) have first introduced in
“The Conjuring 2.”
Despite the huge success of “The Nun,” it is the second in the series to receive a low mark on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes, with a 28 percent “rotten” score. It also got a C rating from audiences on Cinemascore.
Two more Warner Bros. movies landed among the top five: In third place, “Crazy Rich Asians” added $13.1 million in its fourth weekend. Giant shark movie “The Meg,” now in its fifth weekend, added
$6.1 million to land at No. 4.
At No. 2, STX Entertainment’s Jennifer Garner-led action thriller “Peppermint” earned
$13.4 million.
Garner stars as a woman out for vengeance after her husband and daughter are gunned down in front of her. The film, directed by “Taken” director Pierre Morel, came in within predictions of $10 million to $15 million. It earned mixed reviews from audiences and critics with a B-plus rating on Cinemascore and a 13 percent “rotten” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In fifth place, Sony’s “Searching,” now in its third weekend, added 802 theaters and $4.6 million, a strong effort for a film initially released on limited screens.
In limited release, Freestyle Releasing opened faith-based drama “God Bless the Broken Road” with $1.4 million, below expectations of $2 million to $4 million.