'Insidious' Sneaks into the Top Spot at the Box Office
by EG
Insidious: The Red Door, the fifth installment in the horror franchise, took the top spot at the box office over the weekend. Insidious didn't have a stellar debut, but it was enough to beat out the plummeting Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the mega-budget action sequel that is quickly losing hope of turning a profit. The raunchy comedy Joy Ride didn't do well, either, as theatrical movies continue to struggle to find a connection with summer audiences. Read on for details.
Big summer tentpoles continue to struggle at the domestic box office, where a horror pic took down Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
Insidious: The Red Door opened to an estimated $32.7 million to win the July 7-9 weekend, beating out Indy 5, which fell to No. 2 in its sophomore outing with an estimated $26.5 million.
The Red Door overperformed despite weak reviews, scoring the second-best domestic opening of the series behind 2013’s Insidious: Chapter 2 ($40.3 million), not adjusted for inflation. Overseas, the movie also did frightfully well, grossing $31.4 million for a global bow of $64.1 million against a reported budget of just $16 million.
Heading into the weekend, prerelease tracking had suggested that the fifth and final Insidious installment, helmed by series star Patrick Wilson in his feature directorial debut, would earn $25 million or more. Screen Gems partnered with Stage 6 Films and Blumhouse on the horror pic, which reteams the original cast, including Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins and Andrew Astor.
Dial of Destiny, from Lucasfilm and Disney, tumbled more than 55 percent as it limped past the $100 million mark domestically to finish Sunday with a cume of $121.2 million. Indy 5 earned a subdued $31.8 million for a foreign tally of $126.7 million and $247.9 million worldwide.
The sleeper hit Sound of Freedom, from Angel Studios, placed third in North America with an estimated $18.2 million. The conservative-leaning film, which was crowd-funded, is doing big business in America’s heartland and in the South. The pic, which opened to big numbers on July Fourth after nabbing an A+ CinemaScore from audiences, finished Sunday with a domestic tally of $40.2 million.
Pixar and Disney’s Elemental held well at No. 4, followed by Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse at No. 5. (The Spidey film caught up with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 over the weekend in North America.)
Joy Ride, from Lionsgate, opened in sixth place with a disappointing $5.9 million. The pic, which had hoped for $7 million to $9 million, marks the second of several raunchy comedies opening at the summer box office as Hollywood tries to revive the genre. From the producers of Neighbors and the co-screenwriter of Crazy Rich Asians, Joy Ride stars Ashley Park, Sherry Cola, Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu as four unlikely friends who embark on a once-in-a-lifetime international adventure.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.