Here are the projections for the Top 10 this week:
#1: Fury ($26 million)
#2: Gone Girl ($17 million, -36%)
#3: The Best of Me ($16 million)
#4: The Book of Life ($14 million)
#5: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ($10.5 million, -43%)
#6: Dracula Untold ($10 million, -58%)
#7: The Judge ($9 million, -31%)
#8: Annabelle ($8.5 million, -47%)
#9: The Equalizer ($5 million, -49%)
#10: The Maze Runner ($4.5 million, -40%)
#1: Fury ($26 million)
#2: Gone Girl ($17 million, -36%)
#3: The Best of Me ($16 million)
#4: The Book of Life ($14 million)
#5: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ($10.5 million, -43%)
#6: Dracula Untold ($10 million, -58%)
#7: The Judge ($9 million, -31%)
#8: Annabelle ($8.5 million, -47%)
#9: The Equalizer ($5 million, -49%)
#10: The Maze Runner ($4.5 million, -40%)
Fury has been tracking strong for weeks, and appears to be early awards season bait as well. Brad Pitt is a bankable star, the marketing has been strong. And what would be a year without a compelling war drama? Fury's tracking has been comparable to that of Captain Phillips and The Monuments Men through the same point, so it should be able to open to similar, if not slightly higher levels.
The Best of Me is a wild card. It could very well surprise. It is a romance movie that should be a solid choice for date night audiences. Do not be surprised if it opens higher than expected. The leads aren't bankable stars, but by all means, that's not required for this genre.
The Book of Life is in an unfortunate situation. Despite solid buzz, its opening at the tail-end of what has been quite a busy Fall season for family audiences, as Dolphin Tale 2, The Boxtrolls and last weeks Alexander have all been in theaters. But all three haven't been huge, as all three opened in the same mid-to-high teens millions range. With its somewhat odd-looking animation, this will probably reach that range and nothing higher.
As for holdovers, Gone Girl gets some competition for adults so it probably will have a heavier drop than last week. Meanwhile competition will affect Alexander and The Equalizer and past genre trajectories will cause pain for Dracula Untold and Annabelle. On the lighter end of the spectrum, no competition will help The Judge and The Maze Runner stabilize.
