Box office: ‘The Conjuring’ bound for No. 1; ‘R.I.P.D.’ lacks pulse

The horror film “The Conjuring� scared up big crowds going into the weekend, taking in an estimated $17 million dollars on Friday and tracking to unseat “Despicable Me 2� at the top of the box office.

Another debut, DreamWorks Animation’s “Turbo,� appears unable to best “Despicable Me 2� on the family-friendly front, earning an estimated $6.5 million on Friday. “Despicable Me 2� earned an estimated $7.5 million the same day, which puts it on track for second place with a total of more than $250 million in its third weekend of release.

True to early buzz, “R.I.P.D.� was a disappointment with just an estimated $4.8 million on Friday, which puts it on pace to debut outside of the top five. Starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds, the film has a lot of ground to cover to make up its $130-million production costs, which stands in stark contrast with “The Conjuring� and its $20-million price tag.

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Courting more mature moviegoers, the sequel “Red 2� earned an estimated $6.2 million on Friday and is on pace to round out the top five with with Adam Sandler’s comedy “Grown Ups 2,� which took in an estimated $6.4 million. Led by aging action stars Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis and John Malkovich, “Red 2� could come in with $18 million over the weekend, which would be a lower than the $21.8 million earned by its predecessor on its opening weekend in 2010.

Elsewhere on the underperforming would-be blockbuster front, Guillermo Del Toro’s “Pacific Rim� took in an estimated $4.7 million on Friday to drop from the top five in just its second weekend of release, and “The Lone Ranger� appears on its way to drifting out of the top 10 with an estimated $1.2 million.

ALSO:

‘The Conjuring’ to scare off pricey ‘R.I.P.D.’ at box office

‘The Conjuring’: Director James Wan channels real-life scares

DreamWorks Animation stock falls on ‘Turbo’ box office projections

Twitter: @chrisbarton