Executives at Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. this weekend reaped the rewards of a potentially risky call they made several months ago: moving the release date for 'The Conjuring' from early this year to the more competitive summer months. The horror film with a production budget of $20 million and no major stars would be opening against an expensivespectacle starring Ryan Reynolds and the latest feature from DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.

Still 'The Conjuring' easily topped an otherwiselifeless box office this weekend, making an estimated $41.5 million from Friday to Sunday in the U.S. and Canada. The film from Warner Bros.' New Line Cinema division was boosted by solid reviews and favorable word-of-mouth among audiences.

'It's just an incredibly compelling movie that just hit the audience with the really interesting subject of demonology,' said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' executive vice president of domestic distribution.

Taking second place was 'Despicable Me 2' with $25 million. Now in its third week of release, the animated sequel from Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures has collected $276 million domestically and taken in $584.6 million globally.

But after the runaway success of 'The Conjuring' and the holding power of 'Despicable Me 2,' the good news faded fast.

'Turbo,' the DreamWorks Animation feature about a snail who dreams of racing in the Indianapolis 500, sputtered in third place with a modest $21.5 million.