{"id":111729,"date":"2017-08-14T03:24:53","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T07:24:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=111729"},"modified":"2017-08-14T03:24:53","modified_gmt":"2017-08-14T07:24:53","slug":"annabelle-scares-up-35m-jolting-sleepy-box-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2017\/08\/14\/annabelle-scares-up-35m-jolting-sleepy-box-office\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Annabelle’ scares up $35M, jolting sleepy box office"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"The<\/a>
The \u201cConjuring\u201d spinoff \u201cAnnabelle: Creation\u201d scared up an estimated $35 million in North American theatres over the weekend. (Photo By Source, Fair use)<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NEW YORK \u2014 The \u201cConjuring\u201d spinoff \u201cAnnabelle: Creation\u201d scared up an estimated $35 million in North American theatres over the weekend, making it easily the top film and giving the lagging August box office a shot in the arm.<\/span><\/p>\n

The opening came close to matching the film’s predecessor, \u201cAnnabelle,\u201d which opened with $37.1 million in October 2014. Warner Bros. could celebrate not only the month’s biggest debut but also having the week’s top two films. Christopher Nolan’s \u201cDunkirk\u201d followed in second with $11.4 million in its fourth weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even amid an especially weak August, the well-reviewed horror sequel and modestly budgeted \u201cAnnabelle: Creation\u201d found eager audiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat we were able to do $35 million in what is a very sluggish marketplace was very impressive,\u201d said Jeffrey Goldstein, Warner Bros.’ distribution chief. \u201cWe all know that moviegoing begets moviegoing and right now it’s a dip in the content overall.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The film, the third to spiral out of 2013’s \u201cThe Conjuring,\u201d cost only about $15 million to make. More sequels and spinoffs are being developed in what has become for Warner Bros. a steadily profitable horror franchise bent on old-school frights. The \u201cAnnabelle\u201d offshoot centres on a possessed doll.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last week’s top film, the poorly received Stephen King adaptation \u201cThe Dark Tower,\u201d slid dramatically. The Sony Pictures release, starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, toppled nearly 60 per cent on its second weekend with an estimated $7.9 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

The week’s other new entry, the Open Road animated release \u201cNut Job 2: Nutty by Nature,\u201d edged just above \u201cThe Dark Tower\u201d with $8.9 million. That was well below the 2014 debut of the original, \u201cThe Nut Job,\u201d which opened with $19.4 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the solid returns for \u201cAnnabelle: Creation\u201d did little to counter the box-office slide. The box office was down 31.6 per cent from the same weekend last year, when \u201cSuicide Squad\u201d was No. 1 despite brutal reviews and Seth Rogen’s \u201cSausage Party\u201d opened. The summer altogether is down 12.4 per cent from last year, according to comScore.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great weekend to be a really scary doll and Warner Bros., but for everyone else, it’s just plain scary,\u201d said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. \u201cIt proves the horror genre is alive and well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Some of July’s bright spots, however, have continued into August. The summer’s top comedy, \u201cGirls Trip,\u201d will soon surpass $100 million domestically. The movie, starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah, took in $6.5 million in its fourth week to bring its cumulative total to $97.2 million. It may end up doubling the gross of its closest summer comedy competition: the starrier and pricey \u201cBaywatch\u201d ($58.1 million in its entire run).<\/span><\/p>\n

In limited release, the A24 crime thriller \u201cGood Time,\u201d starring Robert Pattinson, debuted with a robust $34,000 per-screen average on four screens. That was bettered, though, by the $47,000 screen-average of Neon’s \u201cIngrid Goes West,\u201d with Aubrey Plaza, on three screens. Both films expand in coming weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers also are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. \u201cAnnabelle: Creation,\u201d $35 million ($35 million international).<\/span><\/p>\n

2. \u201cDunkirk,\u201d $11.4 million ($14.5 million international).<\/span><\/p>\n

3. \u201cNut Job 2: Nutty by Nature,\u201d $8.9 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. \u201cThe Dark Tower,\u201d $7.9 million ($7.9 million international).<\/span><\/p>\n

5. \u201cThe Emoji Movie,\u201d $6.6 million ($14.1 million international).<\/span><\/p>\n

6. \u201cGirls Trip,\u201d $6.5 million ($1.4 million international).<\/span><\/p>\n

7. \u201cSpider-Man: Homecoming,\u201d $6.1 million ($12.4 million international).<\/span><\/p>\n

8. \u201cKidnap,\u201d $5.2 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

9. \u201cGlass Castle,\u201d $4.9 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

10. \u201cAtomic Blonde,\u201d $4.6 million ($5.2 million international).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/span><\/p>\n

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore<\/span><\/p>\n

1. \u201cWolf Warrior 2,\u201d $83.6 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. \u201cAnnabelle Creation,\u201d $35 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. \u201cGuilty of Mind,\u201d $23.6 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. \u201cThe Adventures,\u201d $22.3 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. \u201cWar for the Planet of the Apes,\u201d $17.1 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

6. \u201cA Taxi Driver,\u201d $15.3 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

7. \u201cDespicable Me 3,\u201d $15 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

8. \u201cDunkirk,\u201d $14.5 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

9. \u201cValerian and the City of a Thousand Planets,\u201d $14.4 million.<\/span><\/p>\n

10. \u201cThe Emoji Movie,\u201d $14.1 million.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK \u2014 The \u201cConjuring\u201d spinoff \u201cAnnabelle: Creation\u201d scared up an estimated $35 million in North American theatres over the …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":111732,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,106],"tags":[21130],"class_list":["post-111729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","category-hollywood","tag-annabelle-creation","mauthors-jake-coyle","mauthors-the-associated-press"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111729\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}