Moviegoers were ready for a fright this weekend, sending "The Conjuring" into first place at the box office, while "R.I.P.D." became the summer's latest big-budget action film to bite the dust. "The Conjuring," a haunted-house thriller from Warner Bros., debuted with $41.5 million in North American ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. Starring Vera Farmiga, Lili Taylor, Patrick Wilson and Ron Livingston, "The Conjuring" unseated two-week box-office champ "Despicable Me 2," which dropped to second place with $25 million. "The Conjuring" was among four new releases tempting moviegoers this weekend. The newest animated offering, Fox's "Turbo," opened with $21.5 million, good for third place. Fox's head of domestic distribution, Chris Aronson, characterized the opening as "a very promising start," noting that the film won't open in Europe until the fall. But Universal's big-budget crime caper "R.I.P.D." opened with a disappointing $12.76 million. The film reportedly cost more than $130 million to make, compared to only about $19.5 million for "The Conjuring." Starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds, "R.I.P.D" joins the year's other mega-budget summer flops, including "Pacific Rim," "White House Down," "After Earth" and "The Lone Ranger." Overall box office totals are up, though, said Paul Dergarabedian of box-office tracker Hollywood.com. Read more http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/...uring_n_3631777.html?utm_hp_ref=entertainment
