This year has seen the best and worst of what certain franchises are capable of. Sure, the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to thrive, and Deadpool blew everyone away, but then there are sequels like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, and Alice Through the Looking Glass -- neither of which did that well with audiences. With all of these hit or miss performances, 2016 has in many ways become a horror scenario for many studios. That being said, this year has most certainly not been a horror scenario for horror sequel The Conjuring 2, which is currently set to make a killing at the box office this weekend.
The numbers are in, and according to a new report from Deadline, they look very good for James Wan's The Conjuring 2. By current estimates, the film is currently tracking to garner a more than respectable $38.3 million haul throughout the course of its opening weekend.
Although it might not seem like much compared to certain major blockbuster hits, that's a fairly substantial haul for a movie like The Conjuring. Horror movies, particularly R-rated ones, often don't make much money at the box office, and they typically rely on the fact that they are cheap to produce in order to yield a profit for the studios. In the grand scheme of filmmaking, the horror genre essentially represents the epitome of bet small, win small.
There's one other aspect of The Conjuring 2's opening that makes it so impressive this weekend: it's status among the many sequels of 2016. Although numerous franchise entries have underperformed this year, The Conjuring 2 has done an impeccable job of matching up to the performance of the original 2013 movie. In fact, with the notable exception of _Captain America: Civil War, _undeniably the champion of 2016 thus far, The Conjuring 2 has performed better than any other sequel to hit theaters this year.
Much of this seems to have to do with the fact that a strong degree of effort was clearly put into The Conjuring 2. Unlike many sequels, this horror follow-up has brought back just about every important factor from the original installment, and it exists as a legitimate sequel, rather than a cheap cash-grab. Critics and audiences have become increasingly adept at separating the quality from the crap, and most early reviews indicate that The Conjuring 2 is a respectful and worthy successor the wildly profitable original film.
We here at Cinema Blend will keep you up to date regarding the financial performance of _The Conjuring, _as well as all of the other films currently in theaters, as more information becomes available to us. Be sure to check out The Conjuring 2 this weekend, if you think you've got the guts.
