Audiences opted for scares over orcs at the box office this weekend, as a trio of newcomers looked to leave their mark.

Coming in first place is The Conjuring 2 (read our review), which brought in $40.3 million over its first three days. That's in line with how the 2013 original debuted ($41.8 million), showing that there's high interest in this burgeoning franchise. The latest horror flick from director James Wan was the beneficiary of a strong critical response, earning a reputation as one of the better sequels in the genre. That word-of-mouth, coupled with the lackluster reactions to the other films playing, increased the appeal of Conjuring 2 and helped it play to a wider audience.

While Conjuring 2's time in the top spot may be short lived (with Finding Dory opening next week), it is set up to have a lucrative run just like its predecessor. There won't be another horror film premiering in a wide release until The Purge: Election Year in a few weeks, so for the time being fans of the genre won't have many choices. Given how this film has performed so far (already $90.3 million worldwide), it wouldn't be surprising if Warner Bros. was making plans for a third installment featuring the Warrens, who are quickly becoming the most popular characters in horror.

Opening in second is Warcraft (read our review) with just $24.3 million. The video game adaptation has broken financial records overseas (particularly in China), but it was not able to find much success in North America. Most likely, the negative reactions were the culprit, limiting the audience for what was already a fairly niche production. Even though there are millions of World of Warcraft players, there are just as many people unfamiliar with the source material and were not drawn to the big screen iteration.

Because of this soft start domestically, Warcraft probably won't be able to turn things around over the next few weeks, especially with some high-profile films making their way to theaters. Luckily for director Duncan Jones, Universal, and Legendary Pictures, Warcraft has proven to be far more fruitful internationally. The worldwide total is currently $286.1 million, already exceeding the $160 million production budget. Whether or not that's enough to warrant a sequel is a question for another day, but at least the team can take solace in knowing that their investment isn't a wash and will turn some kind of a profit.

Coming in third is the week's last new release Now You See Me 2 (read our review). The sequel brought in $23 million during its first three days, about $6 million less than the 2013 original. Like Warcraft, it scored mostly negative reviews, which certainly didn't help its commercial prospects. The first Now You See Me was something of a surprise hit, but the mixed word-of-mouth led to diminishing returns for the followup. As the multiplex starts to get more and more crowded in the heat of summer, Now You See Me 2 is probably going to slide down relatively quickly.

In fourth is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. The film made $14.8 million in its second weekend, falling 58.1 percent from its opening figures. To date, it's grossed $61 million domestically, far behind the pace of its predecessor at the same point in its run. TMNT 2 is even struggling a bit internationally, with the global total at $116.3 million. The sequel has actually made more in America than all the other markets combined, a rarity in this day and age.

Rounding out the top five is X-Men: Apocalypse with $10 million. The latest installment in the long running comic book franchise has now made $136.3 million in the States.

Romantic drama Me Before You comes in sixth place, making $9.2 million in its second weekend. The film has now brought in $36.8 million domestically.

At #7 is The Angry Birds Movie with $6.7 million. The animated movie currently sits at $98.1 million Stateside.

Coming in eighth is Alice Through the Looking Glass, making $5.5 million in its third weekend. The first real disappointment for Disney has now grossed just $62.4 million in the U.S.

Marvel's Captain America: Civil War added $4.3 million to its domestic total over the weekend to finish in ninth. It's now made $396.8 million for its run in the States.

Capping off the top ten is The Jungle Book. Jon Favreau's fantasy adventure made $2.7 million to raise its domestic haul to $352.6 million. With a worldwide total of $909.8 million, the film has an outside chance of becoming Disney's third $1 billion hit of the year.

[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates -- based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Monday, June 13 -- at which time we'll update this post with any changes.]

Source: Box Office Mojo