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Director James Wan‘s The Conjuring reached $86.8 million domestic ticket sales on Monday, surpassing high-priced tentpoles The Lone Ranger and Pacific Rim.
The movie’s surprisingly strong showing is one of the biggest success stories of the summer — a victory for Toby Emmerich‘s New Line and parent company Warner Bros. Its stellar performance upends the traditional notion that tentpoles are the primary profit generators in the summer months.
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This season has seen a number of big-budget duds, including Disney’s The Lone Ranger, which cost $250 million to make and has grossed $85.5 million domestically and $164.1 million worldwide to date. The Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer western, directed by Gore Verbinski and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, will result in a substantial write-down for Disney.
Guillermo Del Toro‘s Pacific Rim, from Legendary Pictures and WB, is also a disappointment, although it has taken in more than The Lone Ranger, earning $85.2 million to date in North America and $225.2 million worldwide.
The Conjuring, the top-grossing horror pic of 2013 so far, has also done far more business domestically than White House Down ($70.8 million) and After Earth ($60 million).
VIDEO: The Conjuring’ Director James Wan on Watching Scary Movies: ‘I’m Very Squeamish’
Based on a real story, the film stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as Ed and Lorraine Warren, paranormal investigators who help a family who has been haunted by a dark force. Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor also star.
It’s one of the few horror titles to receive an A- CinemaScore; generally speaking, horror scores lower.
The Conjuring, still early in its foreign run, has grossed $12 million to date overseas for a worldwide total of $98.9 million. It should cross the $100 million mark sometime on Tuesday.
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