‘Insidious: The Red Door’ Scares ‘Dial of Destiny’ Away From Top at Domestic Box Office

Sony took advantage of a short window of quietude (and an opportunity to counter-program) between two tent-poles, as it debuted the horror sequel Insidious: The Red Door in over 3,000 domestic theaters this weekend. The film topped the box office on its first day, grossing more than $15 million, which includes the $5 million it grossed in Thursday previews. Insidious 5 is on track to deliver a stunning $30 million-plus opening weekend, coming in way ahead of projections, which were hovering around $25 million.

This would actually put it slightly above the $29 million opening weekend that its immediate predecessor — Insidious: The Last Key — delivered in 2018. The first Insidious, directed by James Wan, grossed $13 million in its opening weekend, and finished with a hair under $100 million worldwide in 2011. Insidious: Chapter 2 made a franchise-topping $40 million in its debut weekend, and concluded its theatrical run with $161 million globally.

As you’d expect from the fifth installment of a horror movie franchise, Insidious 5 has received mixed reviews, currently sitting at a “rotten” 36% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Collider’s Nate Richard wrote in his review that even though the movie “might not be the scariest installment in the franchise, but it feels a lot more human than the others before it.” The film marks the directorial debut of series star Patrick Wilson, who also headlines Conjuring franchise.

RELATED: Every Insidious Movie Ranked, From ‘The Last Key’ to ‘The Red Door’

Insidious 5 is looking to successfully scare away last week’s number one film, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, from the top spot. Another fifth chapter in a long-running franchise, Dial of Destiny added $7.6 million on its second Friday, pushing its running domestic total past the $100 million mark. The film has grossed $102 million so far, and is expected to hit $120 million domestically by Sunday, after an estimated second weekend haul of around $25 million. This would mark a franchise-worst 58% second-weekend decline.

Like most faith-based films, the Jim Caviezel-starrer Sound of Freedom had a front-loaded debut as it topped the chart on July 4 with over $11 million. The movie appears to have regained energy on Friday, and is eyeing a third-place finish after grossing $4.7 million. Sound of Freedom could hit $36 million by Sunday, which would be a spectacular showing for a niche title that explicitly targets right-wing conspiracy theorists.

Two Animated Movies Rounded Out the Top 5

Coming in at the fourth and fifth spots this weekend are Disney’s Elemental and Sony’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse — two animated movies that have performed very differently at the box office. While Elemental showed some sign of life after delivering one of the worst openings in Pixar history — the movie currently sits at $102 million domestically, after a fourth Friday of $2.9 million — Across the Spider-Verse made $2.6 million on its sixth Friday, taking its running domestic total to $352 million. Elsewhere at the box office, Lionsgate’s well-reviewed R-rated comedy Joy Ride wasn’t exactly able to capitalize on No Hard Feelings’ excellent performance over the last couple of weeks, as it debuted outside the top five with $2.6 million on Friday. You can watch our interview with Insidious 5 producers Jason Blum and Wan here, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.