‘The Conjuring’ steamrolls ‘R.I.P.D.’; Maria Bartiromo in play?

After the coffee. Before gearing up for yet another TV press tour.

The Skinny: I caught up on the last two episodes of CBS’s “Under the Dome” over the weekend. I’ve decided viewers needs to watch “Under the Dome” as if they were watching “Sharknado.” If I nitpick, I’ll turn it off after five minutes. But if I goof on it, it is tolerable. Monday’s headlines include the weekend box office recap and speculation about the future of CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo.

Daily Dose: CBS and Time Warner Cable have just over two days to either agree to a new distribution deal or extend the old one. Otherwise, CBS content will disappear from millions of Time Warner Cable subscribers in New York, Los Angeles and elsewhere around the country. While most distribution deals expire at 12:01 a.m. (how dramatic), the Time Warner Cable - CBS pact is up at 5 p.m. Wednesday. At least I don’t have to stay up late to see what happens.

Scary weekend: “The Conjuring, “ a low-budget horror movie from Warner Bros., ran away with the box office with a take of $41.5 million. But the real horror was how poorly “R.I.P.D.” and “Turbo” did. “R.I.P.D.” may end up being the biggest bomb of the summer. Meanwhile, “Despicable Me 2” continues to roll along and took in an additional $25 million. Weekend box office recaps from the Los Angeles Times and Hollywood Reporter.

PHOTOS: Hollywood backlot moments

What went wrong? With “R.I.P.D.” joining a growing list of big budget summer flops, Hollywood and the media that cover the movie business are starting to wonder what’s going wrong. Crazy thought: Maybe movies that have little to offer other than mass destruction have worn out their welcome. There have been a few bright spots including sequels “Despicable Me 2” and “Grown Ups 2” and female buddy comedy “The Heat.” The New York Times and Los Angeles Times on the summer movie season.

Another sale. Broadcaster Allbritton Communications, parent of eight TV stations including WJLA-TV Washington, D.C., is on the block. Bids are expected this week from the usual suspects -- Sinclair Broadcast Group, Hearst Corp., Nexstar and Los Angeles Times parent Tribune Co. Hearst and Tribune would like to cherry pick WJLA but Allbritton wants to sell the whole company to one buyer. Its other stations are in much smaller markets. More on Allbritton from the Wall Street Journal.

Bartiromo looking to bolt? Longtime CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo is shopping herself to other cable channels including CNN and Fox Business, according to the New York Post. Bartiromo, once CNBC’s biggest personality, is nearing the end of a five-year deal and has the powerful Creative Artists Agency representing her. The question is whether Bartiromo is worth as much to CNBC as she once was and would still be catch for a rival network. No leverage equals no big new deal.

PHOTOS: 2013 Emmy nominees react

Remember me? Before “The Sopranos” changed television forever, HBO’s “Sex and the City” was the pay-TV channel’s television game-changer. Now, 15 years after the comedy about four best friends navigating New York City first made a splash, New Yorker critic Emily Nussbaum argues that the show is not getting its due from critics.

Inside the Los Angeles Times: “Tiny Times,” a new movie in China, is causing a big debate.
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