James Wan has done it again. For the second time this year, a horror film that he's directed has opened to over $40 million, securing his position as the reigning king of mainstream horror cinema. He may be taking a break from the genre to direct 'Fast and Furious 7,' but after the jaw-dropping success of 'The Conjuring' and now 'Insidious Chapter 2,' you just know he'll be back. No one is bringing the audiences in quite like Wan.

Oh, and there were some other movies that made some money, too.

FilmWeekendPer Screen
1Insidious Chapter 2$41,050,000$13,463$41,050,000
2The Family$14,500,000$4,691$14,500,000
3Riddick$7,013,000 (-63.1)$2,250$31,280,000
4The Butler$5,582,000 (-33.6)$1,723$100,041,000
5We're the Millers$5,415,000 (-29.6)
$1,672$131,602,000
6Instructions Not Included$4,250,000 (-47.8)$4,555$26,581,000
7Planes$3,066,000 (-25.6)$1,119$82,984,000
8One Direction: This is Us$2,400,000 (-40.7)$1,043$26,887,000
9Elysium$2,050,000 (-34.7)$1,192$88,388,000
10Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters$1,825,000 (-24.8)$1,114$62,035,000

 

The $41 million opening for 'Insidious Chapter 2' is literally less than $1 million away from 'The Conjuring,' which became one of the most successful horror movies of all time earlier this year. Even if it doesn't have the surprisingly strong legs of 'The Conjuring' (which carried it well past the $100 million mark), the sequel to 'Insidious' is already a huge hit. It was produced on a budget of $5 million, so it should already be in the black. We can probably expect a big drop next week (typical in horror movies), but it's already a massive success.

Other than 'Insidious Chapter 2,' it was yet another dull weekend at the box office. But what else do you expect from September? 'The Family' opened with $14 million, which isn't awful, but it isn't particularly great, either. It didn't cost too much to make, but it's tough to imagine it catching on. Ultimately, it's just another example of how latter-day Robert De Niro keeps on finding ways to disappoint us all.

'Riddick' dropped down to third place after winning the top spot last weekend, losing a massive percentage and grossing only $7 million. Like 'The Family,' it didn't cost too much to produce, but it's tough to imagine it turning itself around and becoming a genuine hit at this point. 'Riddick' will probably fare okay on DVD and internationally, so everyone will probably break even in the long run. Just don't hope for a 'Riddick 4.'

Meanwhile, 'The Butler' and 'We're the Millers' continued to perform very well, with both only taking minor drops. 'The Butler' has officially hit $100 million and 'We're the Millers' has broken $130 million, making them the two biggest sleeper hits of 2013. And 'Instructions Not Included'? We're still not sure where this movie came from, but it's made almost $30 million.

Elsewhere, 'Planes' struggled to $82 million (not bad), 'One Direction: This is Us' has officially stalled, 'Elysium' will barely fail to get to $100 million and 'Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters' is still a thing. It's all very quiet, really.

'Prisoners' and 'Rush' lead a handful of new releases next week. Hopefully, things will pick up a bit.

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