Scares ruled at the weekend box office

I've long felt that horror movie fans are incredibly loyal to the genre. They turn out in droves for almost all horror-related flicks, even if they're not particularly well reviewed ones. And sequels? Oh, please, horror fans love a good sequel, too. That's why I'm not at all surprised that Insidious: Chapter 2 was the big winner in this weekend's box office race. What does surprise me a bit, however, is how much money James Wan's follow-up to Insidious actually made.

The numbers are in, and it appears that not only did Insidious: Chapter 2 take the number one spot in its debut weekend, it also managed to set a new September box office record. Insidious 2 raked in a very impressive $41 million dollars. That's much better than predicted, and it's enough to make this film the second-biggest September movie debut of all time (behind 2012's Hotel Transylvania, which took in $42.5 million). And here's something I overlooked last week when I was breaking down the possible contenders: Insidious: Chapter 2 had a production budget of just five million dollars. That's big, big money for FilmDistrict, and it only hammers home my ongoing belief that big budget does not a good film guarantee.

This past weekend's number two movie, the mob comedy The Family, took in just $14.5 million - a weak showing, particularly for a movie with a hot shot director (Luc Besson) and an all-star cast led by Robert De Niro. And when you consider that The Family's production budget was $30 million, well then, this isn't good news. This is a must-see on DVD, but for me, not a must-see in theaters.

As for the rest of the weekend's top five box office, Riddick was third with $7 million, Lee Daniels' The Butler was fourth, taking in nearly $5.6 million (and hitting the $100 million mark domestically) and We're the Millers held down fifth place, with $5.4 million.

Did anyone see any of these movies over the weekend? I think we're heading out to see Insidious: Chapter 2 today. Football took up most of my Saturday and I just wasn't in the mood for any more scares after the nail-biter of a game between Alabama and Texas A&M (Roll Tide).

Photo courtesy of EW.com