'The Conjuring' Scares $41.5 Million Out of Moviegoers' Wallets

Time Warner TWX set a new box office record this weekend with Warner Bros.'s latest horror flick, The Conjuring. According to Box Office Mojo, the film earned an estimated $41.5 million, which is greater than the debut totals of all other original (non-sequel) R-rated horror films. With a budget of just $20 million, The Conjuring is already profitable. Depending on the studio's terms with movie theaters, however, Warner Bros. might have to part with half of its revenue. Comcast's CMCSA hit animated comedy, Despicable Me 2 from Universal Pictures, came in second place domestically with $25 million. Globally the film retained the number-one spot for the third consecutive week in a row. That brings the box office total to $584.5 million worldwide on a budget of $76 million. Nearly half ($276 million) came from domestic ticket sales. DreamWorks Animation's DWA Turbo -- the first original animated film released since Epic -- came in third place with $21.5 million during the Friday-Saturday period. The film earned an additional $9.7 million on Wednesday and Thursday. Turbo reportedly cost $135 million to produce, so it will need to rely on global ticket sales (which have yet to be reported) to make up for its domestic shortcomings. This is the second flop for DreamWorks since Rise of the Guardians earned $32 million during its five-day opening in November 2012. Sony's SNE Grown Ups 2 fell to fourth place with an estimated $20 million. This is less than half of the $41.5 million that the film earned during the previous weekend, which is typical for summer blockbusters. Red 2, the Lionsgate-produced LGF sequel to the surprise 2010 hit, debuted in fifth place with just $18.5 million on a budget of $84 million. Pacific Rim, Warner Bros.'s other new film, fell to sixth place after earning another $15.9 million. This brought the film's domestic box office total to $68 million. Globally, Pacific Rim has earned $178.5 million, which is still below the film's $190 million budget. Last but not least is R.I.P.D., which debuted in seventh place after earning $12.7 million. The film cost $130 million to produce -- considerably more than Universal's number-one film, Despicable Me 2. Louis Bedigian is the Senior Tech Analyst and Features Writer of Benzinga. You can reach him at 248-636-1322 or louis(at)benzingapro(dot)com. Follow him @LouisBedigianBZ