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Conjuring Up a Big Win

Hollywood’s sequel machine is reportedly broken. Entertainment pundits have been wringing their hands a good bit as of late, writing that this year’s crop of sequels (minus those nearly invulnerable superhero sequels) have been flopping around like a just-caught carp, leading to some of the most anemic box office returns in decades.

But that doom-and-gloom talk didn’t stop a slew of sequels from taking four out of the top five box office spots this weekend—with a video game adaptation constituting the only technically “original” material in the upper echelon.

The Conjuring 2 actually performed a little better than expected, exorcising moviegoers of an estimated $40.4 million of their hard-earned money to haunt the top of the box office. Granted, that’s a bit off from the $41.9 million that the first fright flick scared up. But still, that tally should be enough to keep its makers from shrieking in horror.

Clocking in at No. 2 was a fantasy extravaganza based on one of the most popular video games of all time: Warcraft. The big-screen take on the online juggernaut World of Warcraft sported a monstrous budget: $160 million. Ordinarily, the film’s tepid $24.4 million bow would spell certain indigestion for the bean counters at Universal. But despite such un-warlike Stateside returns, Warcraft was a massive hit elsewhere in the world, with its fearsome orcs raking in $261.7 million overseas (including a whopping $156 million in China during its first five days in theaters there).

Meanwhile, Now You See Me 2 hocus-pocused its way to a $23 million debut, which was about $6 million shy of its predecessor’s opening. And judging from this sequel’s decidedly underwhelming reviews, some moviegoers might’ve thought they were tricked into watching it.

Another sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, slid all the way to fourth place with an estimated $14.8 million. Our heroes in a half shell have been, thus far, half baked—collecting $61.0 million in 10 days. It’s unlikely that they’ll even come close to the $191.2 million its predecessor snapped up in 2014.

Finally, X-Men: Apocalypse squeaked by Me Before You for fifth place, banking a meager $10 million. The film’s $136.4 million domestic cume thus far may not quite be apocalyptic enough to nix future sequels. But Apocalypse is definitely on track to be among the worst-performing films in the X-Men franchise.

Final figures update: 1. The Conjuring 2, $40.4 million; 2. Warcraft, $24.1 million; 3. Now You See Me 2, $22.4 million; 4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, $14.4 million; 5. X-Men: Apocalypse, $9.9 million.