Box Office: 'Insidious 2' Opens to $1.5 Million Thursday Night

The horror pic returns Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne in the lead roles.

TORONTO – James Wan's Insidious 2 grossed $1.5 million as it began rolling out in theaters Thursday night before opening everywhere on Friday the 13th.

That compares to $3.3 million in Thursday night runs for New Line's The Conjuring and $3.4 million for Universal's The Purge, both of which quickly turned into hits at the 2013 summer box office. Both of those films had the advantage of opening when teens and college kids were out of school.

From FilmDistrict, Insidious 2 is expected to open in the $25 million range, easily outpacing Luc Besson's star-studded mob comedy, The Family, whose cast is led by Tommy Lee Jones, Robert De Niro and Michelle Pfeiffer. The Family is expected to open in the $11 million to $15 million range, although more conservative box-office observers believe it won't get past $13 million.

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Insidious 2, produced by horror masters Jason Blum and Oren Peli, returns Patrick Wilson and Rose Byrne in the title roles. It opens more than two years after the original Insidious turned into a sleeper hit, opening to $13.3 million on its way to grossing north of $54 million domestically and $43 million internationally.

The first film cost a scant $1.5 million to make, while the sequel cost a modest $5 million. IM Global handled both films internationally, and co-produced with Blumhouse and Entertainment One.

From a script by Leigh Whannell, Insidious 2 follows the Lambert family as they seek to understand the mysterious childhood secret that has left them dangerously connected to the spirit world. Lin Shaye and Ty Simpkins also star.

Executive producers are Steven Schneider, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones, Charles Layton, Peter Schlessel, Lia Buman and Xavier Marchand.

FilmDistrict is targeting younger moviegoers, focusing on females and Hispanics. It hosted a number of fan events and conducted a grassroots campaign at Comic-Con, among numerous other promotions.

The Family, billed as a dark, subversive comedy and based on Tonino Benacquista's novel, follows Mafia boss Fred Blake (De Niro), who enters the Witness Protection program with his family after snitching on the mob. The family, however, can't help but get into trouble after being relocated to a sleepy town in France, despite the best efforts of a government agent (Jones) to keep them in line. Dianna Argon and John D'Leo also star.