Women Not Just On The Sidelines In Summer Film

"The Conjuring" rules at the box office. The haunted house thriller pulled in more than $41 million in its opening weekend.

Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr finds the movie intriguing.

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"It's a women's melodrama disguised as a haunted house movie," Burr told Here & Now. "And the men kind of stand around on the sides and watch what goes on."

Burr says women have been playing much more varied and interesting roles than the sidekicks usually found in summer fare.

Examples include "Pacific Rim, "The Heat" and "Only God Forgives."