It happens at least two or three times a year.
I mean a little
film that literally comes out of nowhere and becomes a box office shocker. Where did it come from?
Last time it was this summer’s horror/thriller The Purge. A low budget film with a premise that has been done dozens
of times before – that of a family terrorized by a home invasion – yet everyone flocked to see it as if it’s the most important
thing to see in their lives.
Now it’s happened again with Insidious: Chapter 2.
The first film, directed by James Wan (who also directed Chapter 2), which opened in April 2011 and was made for under a million dollars, was a genuine
surprise sleeper hit, grossing some $54
million.
No doubt the popularity of the first film made the sequel
a “must see” movie, leading to its very impressive showing. And Wan’s huge horror
hit this summer for Warners, The Conjuring, also
helped a lot. But $41 million? Who
saw that coming? I don’t recall any TV
ads or even newspapers adverts for the film at all. But evidently, everyone
knew about it and rushed out to see it.
At $41 million, that’s the second highest weekend take for
any film in the month of September, the highest still being Hotel Transylvania, which took in $42.5 million in it’s opening September
release.
In the meantime, Lee
Daniels’ The Butler has now officially crossed the $100 million dollar mark, putting Daniels in the rare position as
one of very the few black directors who’s made a film that has grossed $100
million domestically.
1) Insidious Chapter 2 FD $41,050,000
2) The Family Rela. $14,500,000
3) Riddick Uni. $7,013,000 Total: $31,280,000
4) Lee Daniels’ The Butler Wein. $5,582,000 Total: $100,041,000
5) We’re the Millers WB $5,415,000 Total: $131,602,000
6) Instructions Not Included LGF $4,250,000 Total: $26,581,000
7) Planes BV $3,066,000 Total: $82,984,000
8) One Direction: This is Us TriS $2,400,000 Total: $26,887,000
9) Elysium TriS $2,050,000 Total: $88,388,000
10) Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Fox $1,825,000 Total: $62,035,000
11) Blue Jasmine SPC $1,798,000 Total: $27,885,000
12) The World’s End Focus $1,347,000 -Total: $23,986,000
