THE CONJURING 2 conquers opening weekend box office.
James Wan just kicked David Bowie’s son’s ass.
Well, not literally, but in the crass but essential terms of box-office take, Wan’s much-hyped and critically lauded sequel THE CONJURING 2 did just that, sucking in a sweet $40.4m USD haul in its first weekend of release. That’s a stunning number for a contemporary horror sequel, especially one that trades more on story and character than special effects.
The even more hyped video game adaptation WARCRAFT (you may have seen a few ads promoting its release pulsing around the peripheral of this very site) paled in THE CONJURING 2’s eerie shadow. WARCRAFT is indeed directed by Bowie’s talented son, Duncan Jones (MOON) and, despite its marketing push and built-in fan anticipation, the film only took in a modest $24.4m USD. Critics were harsh too, to which Jones recently responded…
How much money a film makes has almost nothing to do with its quality, of course, but it’s very refreshing to see a mature, thoughtful and unapologetic horror movie (that’s a real movie, not some stunted found footage wank) have such massive reach. It means good things for good movies.
And Wan, a true talent, rabid horror fan and an incredibly humble, nice human, deserves the success.
You can read our glowing review of THE CONJURING 2 here.
