newsmakers


July 22, 2013 at 12:00a.m.

newsmakers

‘The Conjuring’ scares up $41.5M for 1st place

SAN DIEGO

Moviegoers were ready for a fright this weekend, sending “The Conjuring” into first place at the box office.

The Warner Bros. haunted-house horror — based on a true story — 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.

The Jeff Bridges-Ryan Reynolds picture joins other big-budget summer flops such as “Pacific Rim,” “White House Down,” “After Earth” and “The Lone Ranger.”

Kelly Rowland gets maritime escort

PROVINCETOWN, Mass.

The Coast Guard says singer Kelly Rowland was among the passengers on a private boat escorted back to Cape Cod after the captain became disoriented.

Lt. Ruairi White tells the Cape Cod Times that the boat’s captain was following a commercial whale-watching vessel Friday, lost sight of the boat and became disoriented north of Provincetown.

The Coast Guard directed a commercial towboat operator to escort the private vessel back to Provincetown.

TowBoat U.S. Province-town says on its Facebook page that the boat was 33 miles north of Province-town. It says the passengers “were great. Just a little shook up.”

Rowland is a founding member of Destiny’s Child, where Beyonce got her start. The group briefly reunited this year when Rowland and Michelle Williams joined Beyonce for a Super Bowl performance.

Associated Press