Holding onto the top spot, David Fincher's Gone Girl pulled off an incredible hold in its second week, off just 29% to $26.8 million. In 10 days, the buzzed-about book adaptation has earned a huge $78.3 million. Considering its R rating and polarizing subject matter, this hold was unexpected. But audiences are spreading strong word-of-mouth (despite just a B CinemaScore) and this is turning into a movie that other audiences are discovering over time. $100 million is sure to fall next week and should it hold on strong in the coming weeks, $150 million is a possibility.
But that wasn't the only good news this weekend. The top new release, unexpectedly, was Dracula Untold. The first (or second?) of Universal's planned classic monster movie franchise managed to outperform expectations, and debut to $23.5 million, for a solid $8,131 per-venue average. Considering the strong marketing effort and the Halloween season, this high of an opening should not be considered surprising. But, considering many CGI-laden fantasies bomb (this resembled recent flops The Legend of Hercules and I, Frankenstein in its marketing), this is a very good start by all means. Untold landed in the same ballpark as Hercules did back in July. Despite negative critical reception, this earned an "A-" CinemaScore and has already earned over $60 million overseas. Halloween should help boost it over the next few weeks as well. Distributor Universal produced it for $70 million.
Also opening solidly in third place was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, which opened to $19.1 million, for a per-venue average of a good $6,185. That's generally in line with expectations, but it doesn't improve much from The Boxtrolls and Dolphin Tale 2 from earlier in the Fall season. With the strong marketing, I thought this would have had a chance at breaking out and winning the weekend. But, too many family movies this fall definitely limited its chances. Reviews were surprisingly solid and the CinemaScore was an "A-", so it should play well through the rest of the month (The Book of Life won't make things much easier though next week). Disney produced it for $28 million.Following a strong debut last weekend, Annabelle had a decent, though not very strong hold. The Conjuring prequel was off 56% to $16.4 million. In 10 days, the horror flick has picked up a strong $62.2 million. No competition next weekend should help it hold better until Ouija opens right before Halloween. In the meantime, it doesn't look like it will make it to $100 million. But, with just a $7 million budget, Warner Bros. won't be complaining if it doesn't.
Opening in fifth place to somewhat disappointing results is courtroom drama The Judge, which only managed $13.3 million, for a mild $4,439 per-venue average. Considering the starpower, and strong marketing effort, this isn't particularly impressive. Judge didn't come close to Captain Phillips from last year nor Moneyball from 2011. Warner Bros. produced this for $50 million, so its going to need to show serious legs in order to make a profit. Despite mixed reviews, the CinemaScore was an encouragng "A-", which should help it in the weeks ahead. But, by all means, this should have opened higher.Falling to sixth place, The Equalizer was down 48% in its third weekend to $9.7 million. The Denzel Washington thriller has earned a solid $79.9 million in 17 days and should ultimately end up passing the $100 million mark before its done.
Opening in seventh place in just 846 locations was adult drama Addicted. The book adaptation earned a surprisingly strong $7.6 million, averaging a Top 10-best $8,983. Despite a muted marketing effort, the film had some buzz leading up to its release and the African-American audience came out in strong numbers. Don't look for it to hold well in the coming weeks, as similar movies usually are frontloaded.
The Maze Runner was down 36% in its fourth weekend to $7.5 million. In 24 days, the YA success has picked up a solid $83.8 million, and stands a chance at $100 million. With competition from Alexander, The Boxtrolls fell from fourth to ninth this weekend, and was off 44% to $6.7 million. Laika's animated flick is at $41 million in 17 days. With The Book of Life opening next week, this one will probably ultimately fall short of ParaNorman's $56 million final gross.
The Left Behind remake rounded out the Top 10, and fell an alarming 54% to $2.9 million. The faith-based flick is at just $10.9 million so far and unless it stabilizes a bit next weekend, it will likely only finish just above $15 million. Not impressive, but not a flop either.
Next weekend brings Fury, The Book of Life and The Best of Me. Can the strong streak continue?
