LOS ANGELES/NEW YORK (Reuters) - "The Wolverine," starring Hugh Jackman as Marvel Comics' sharp-clawed superhero, slashed its way to $55 million in ticket sales at the weekend box office in a summer that hasn't been kind to some other big-budget action films.
"The Conjuring," a low-budget horror film, was second with $22.1 million in ticket sales in theaters in the United States and Canada. The film has generated nearly $84 million in overall ticket sales and cost only about $20 million to make.
The animated film "Despicable Me 2," featuring the voice of comic Steve Carell, was third with $16 million in ticket sales in its fourth week in movie theaters, according to studio estimates. The film was made by Universal Pictures and has collected more than $306 million in domestic ticket sales.
"Wolverine" kicked off with a much stronger start than some of the summer's other big-budget action films. "R.I.P.D.," "Pacific Rim," "The Lone Ranger" and "White House Down" each started with $37 million or less in their opening weekends in North American theaters.
"The Wolverine," was made by 20th Century, a unit of 21st Century Fox, which also distributed "Turbo." "The Conjuring" was released by Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. Universal Pictures, a unit of Comcast Corp, released "Despicable Me 2."
(Reporting By Ronald Grover and Chris Michaud; editing by Christopher Wilson)