'Annabelle' scares up $35M, jolting sleepy box office

'Annabelle' scares up $35M, jolting sleepy box office

Creation scared up an estimated $35 million in North American theaters over the weekend, making it easily the top film and giving the lagging August box office a shot in the arm.

The opening came close to matching the film's predecessor, "Annabelle," which opened with $37.1 million in October 2014.

Even amid an especially weak August, the well-reviewed horror sequel and modestly budgeted Annabelle:

More sequels and spinoffs are being developed in what has become for Warner Bros. a steadily profitable horror franchise bent on old-school frights.

The Sony Pictures release, starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey, toppled nearly 60 percent on its second weekend with an estimated $7.9 million.

The week's other new entry, the Open Road animated release Nut Job 2:

The box office was down 31.6 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Suicide Squad" was No. 1 despite brutal reviews and Seth Rogen's "Sausage Party" opened.

The movie, starring Jada Pinkett Smith and Queen Latifah, took in $6.5 million in its fourth week to bring its cumulative total to $97.2 million.

In limited release, the A24 crime thriller "Good Time," starring Robert Pattinson, debuted with a robust $34,000 per-screen average on four screens.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters according to comScore.

Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to comScore