'Insidious 2' Rules the Week at Box Office

"Insidious: Chapter 2" didn't just make the best of an off week on its opening weekend, it took charge of the box office. The horror sequel outperformed expectations and came close to setting a new record for a September opening.

The film, which stars Patrick Wilson and was directed by James Wan, grossed $41 million over the weekend, a figure that was on a par with Wan's other summer 2013 hit, "The Conjuring," which took in $41.9 million on its opening weekend. "Insidious 2"'s take, however, not only fell slightly short of that of "The Conjuring," it also didn't quite overtake the record holder for biggest September opening ever, last year's "Hotel Transylvania," which took in $42.5 million.

"Insidious 2" continues this year's string of horror-movie successes, and its opening weekend haul easily pays for its $5-million production budget. Whether or not the film's success will continue past the first week remains to be seen. It has a so-so B+ CinemaScore, suggesting that word of mouth might be lukewarm, and the film has only a 38% fresh rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. "The Conjuring," however, remained remarkably strong through a good portion of the summer, and with very little high-profile competition set to open next week, "Insidiuous 2" might have a little more life left in it.