Low-Budget Horror Rules Summer Box Office, Terrorizes the Competition (Analysis)

Costing a mere $20 million to make, "The Conjuring" debuts to $41.5 million -- more than $100 million-plus tentpoles "R.I.P.D.," "Pacific Rim," "The Lone Ranger," "White House Down" and "After Earth."

The horror genre is making unprecedented gains at the 2013 summer box office, a playtime historically ruled by all-audience tentpoles.

our editor recommends

This past weekend, New Line and Warner Bros.' low-budget The Conjuring scared up a $41.5 million opening, far more than anyone anticipated and more than three times the dismal $12.8 million debut of Universal's big-budget tentpole R.I.P.D., which cost at least $130 million to make and stars Ryan Reynolds opposite Jeff Bridges. It also left Red 2, which opened to $18.5 million, in the dust.