Pamela McClintock of THR:
James Wan's Insidious 2 frightened awake the sleepy fall box office with $41 million in ticket sales -- the No. 2 September opening of all time, as well as one of the top debuts ever for a supernatural horror title. The sequel, fueled by younger moviegoers, cost a scant $5 million to produce.
The FilmDistrict release, proving another resounding victory for the horror genre, as well as for producer Jason Blum, nearly matched the $41.9 million opening of New Line's 2013 summer hit The Conjuring and did more than three times the business of the first Insidious, which debuted to $13.3 million in April 2011.
Insidious 2 couldn't topple September record-holder Hotel Transylvania, which opened to $42.5 million last year, but wasn't far behind.
The horror sequel, written by Leigh Whannell, returns Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne in the title roles and picks up immediately where Insidious left off. It drew a B+ CinemaScore, a top grade for a horror title.
Consumers under the age of 25 made up 62 percent of ticket holders, one of the best numbers in months (the movie is rated PG-13), and the result of FilmDistrict's aggressive marketing campaign targeting young horror fans. FilmDistrict also targeted Hispanic moviegoers.
Insidious 2 follows the Lambert family as they seek to understand the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye, Ty Simpkins also star.
Oren Peli produced Insidious 2 alongside Blum's Blumhouse. Executive producers are Steven Schneider, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Charles Layton, Peter Schlessel, Lia Buman and Xavier Marchand.
The weekend's other new nationwide release was director Luc Besson's star-studded The Family, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer. The dark mob comedy opened to a so-so $14.5 million.
Produced for $30 million by Relativity Media and Besson's EuropaCorp, The Family was likely dampened by poor reviews and a C CinemaScore. The movie skewed notably older, with 83 percent of the ticket buyers over the age of 25. It marked one of De Niro's best openings in recent years outside of the Meet the Fockers franchise.
Q&A: James Wan, Leigh Whannell on Trust, Terror and 'Insidious: Chapter 2'
The Family revolves around Mafia boss Fred Blake (De Niro), who enters the Witness Protection program with his family after snitching on the mob. The family, however, can't help but get into trouble after being relocated to a sleepy town in France, despite the best efforts of a government agent (Jones) to keep them in line. Dianna Argon and John D'Leo also star.
Lee Daniels' The Butler continued to make headlines in its second weekend, grossing $5.6 million to hit the $100 million mark at the North American box office. The historical drama, from The Weinstein Co., headlines Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey.
Next Up: Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal square off in helmer Denis Villeneuve's unsettling thriller Prisoners. Josh Holloway, Laz Alonso, Josh Peck star in the 3-D dance team movie Battle of the Year
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