Friday the 13th in September may not sound as ominous as a Friday the 13th in October, but Hollywood is still making sure that there is a horror movie out today. The Conjuring director James Wan is back with Insidious: Chapter 2, while Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer try to draw an audience for The Family. Meanwhile, Riddick is looking to hang on for a second weekend.
Insidious 2 follows 2011’s Insidious, which opened to just $13.3 million, but finished its run with $54 million. It also comes after The Conjuring, which wowed box office observers with a $41.8 million opening in July, notes Box Office Mojo. Insidious 2 probably won’t make Conjuring-type money this weekend, but a strong marketing campaign is expected to help it open at around $32 million. It also has a PG-13 rating, which means that it can connect with a wider audience.
Entertainment Weekly predicts that Riddick may just make enough to come in at No. 2 this weekend. The $38 million movie has only made $23.3 million so far and should take a steep fall with under $10 million. (It only debuted to $18.7 million last weekend.)
The Family has had an interesting marketing campaign that bills it more as a comedy mob movie, with De Niro front and center (and making sure you know that Martin Scorsese is a producer). It comes from Relativity Media and Luc Besson's EuropaCorp and The Hollywood Reporter notes that it cost $30 million to make. It’s tough to peg how well the film will do, with Box Office Mojo predicting it making over $11 million.
Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Instructions Not Included should round out the top five.
You can check out the limited releases this weekend in Trailer Park.
image: Universal/image.net