'Conjuring 2' puts a $40.4 million scare into the box office

Married ghostbusters scared off all the competition this weekend, be it fantasy warriors, magicians, ninja turtles or superheroes.

Horror sequel The Conjuring 2 racked up $40.4 million and topped the box office in its debut, according to studio estimates from comScore. Starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as a paranormal-investigating couple, director James Wan’s film nearly matched the $41.9 million opening of the original hit in 2013.

The second Conjuring won support from both audiences (who gave it an A- on CinemaScore) and critics (74% positive reviews on aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com), and more importantly breaks a streak of underperforming sequels such as Alice Through the Looking Glass and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, says comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. 

"For this sequel to line up almost exactly with the original tells us audiences love to be scared at the multiplex," he says. "When you have something of this level of quality — especially the first one — that creates a lot of goodwill."

Review: 'Conjuring 2' is a demonic delight

Director Duncan Jones’ adaptation of the popular video game Warcraft came in second place with $24.4 million. The swords-and-sorcery epic didn’t do much damage domestically — and was ravaged by most critics (27% on Rotten Tomatoes) — but the movie featuring battles between humans and orcs has hauled in a massive $156 million in China alone, with an international total to date of $261.7 million.

The movie's international success “is a big deal. It’s been tough for the North American box office to embrace video-game movies," Dergarabedian says. Another piece of good news: In a comScore survey, 29% of the domestic audience described themselves as “heavy gamers,” he adds, and it’s “tough to get them to have a positive response."

Review: 'Warcraft' doesn't default to fantasy as usual

The other new release this weekend, heist sequel Now You See Me 2, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson as magicians, finished in third with $23 million — lower than the first film’s $29.4 million opening in 2013.

While sequels have run into "a bit of audience resistance as of late," says Dergarabedian, "you have to say that Conjuring 2 and Now You See Me 2 show that there’s not an inherent bias against second installments."

The top five was rounded out by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows ($14.8 million) and X-Men: Apocalypse ($10 million). 

Final figures are expected Monday.