'The Conjuring 2' levels disappointing 'Warcraft' at the box office

The good news for the movie business this weekend was that a sequel did better than projected at the box office after weeks of them earning less than the originals ("Alice Through The Looking Glass," "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows").

The bad news: The $160 million "Warcraft" crashed and burned.

"The Conjuring 2" took in an estimated $40.3 million to win the weekend at the domestic box office, according to Exhibitor Relations. Coming in second was "Warcraft" with a dismal $24 million on 3,400 screens.

The summer blockbusters are struggling at the box office this year and "Warcraft," based on the popular video game, is the latest example. However, the movie has earned over $280 million already overseas, showing that audiences abroad who are fans of the game came out in droves.

However, "The Conjuring 2" proved that sequels are not completely being ignored this summer. The beefy opening (for a horror) is just below the $41.8 million the original had its opening weekend in 2013 (the second largest all-time opening weekend for a horror).

In third was "Now You See Me 2" with around $23 million, which didn't slip much from the illusion-heavy original that opened with $29.3 million in 2013.

So talk of audiences being burnt out from sequels might have been a little premature.

Another sequel will definitely take the box office next weekend, as the much-anticipated Pixar movie "Finding Dory" opens and is projected to earn some major coin.