"Annabelle: Creation," with a weekend box office take of $35 million, surprised everyone in the know as it took the No. 1 film spot domestically.
The spinoff from "The Conjuring" movie series appeared to have even surprised its distributors at Warner Bros., The Hollywood Reporter said.
"We would have been happy to hit $30 million, considering the sluggish marketplace," Warner Bros.'s domestic distribution president Jeff Goldstein told THR.
"The Conjuring 2" opened to $40.4 million in 2016 and eventually made $320 million worldwide. "Annabelle," the original spinoff, opened at $37.1 million in 2014 while the first movie, "The Conjuring," scared up $41.9 million in 2013.
"Annabelle: Creation" collected impressive numbers around the world, too, making another $35 million in 39 foreign markets, giving the horror movie a $71.7 million worldwide tally, THR said.
Entertainment Weekly said the "Annabelle Creation" take looked even better when realizing it took only $15 million to make the horror flick.
Reviewers have given "Annabelle: Creation" mixed grades so far, EW said, with a 68 percent "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a B score on CinemaScore.
The movie's plot focuses on a grieving doll maker and his wife with a haunted past who welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home. The movie's cast includes Anthony LaPaglia, Miranda Otto, and Stephanie Sigman.
According to ComScore, "Annabelle: Creation" was followed this weekend by "Dunkirk," $11.4 million; "The Nut Job 2: Nutty By Nature," $8.9 million; "The Dark Tower," $7.9 million; "The Emoji Movie," $6.6 million; "Girls Trip," $6.5 million; "Spider-Man: Homecoming," $6.1 million; "Kidnap," $ 5.2 million; "The Glass Castle," $4.9 million; and "Atomic Blonde," $4.6 million.
ComScore said "Annabelle: Creation" proved to be one of the few bright spots in the summer movie season with the overall box office is down 4.1 percent from the same frame from last year.
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