Opening at #1 was the latest from Ben Affleck, The Accountant. The crime flick wasn't expected to really deliver, but it managed to outpace expectations, pulling in $24.7 million, for a solid $7,417 per-venue average. For Affleck, this is ahead of Argo ($17 million) and The Town ($23 million). Considering the film's tracking wasn't all there, and reviews were mixed (52% on Rotten Tomatoes), its a little bit of a surprise that this managed to open as well as it did. Accountant managed to open in line with last weekend's The Girl on the Train, which had more awareness and buzz (though a similar marketing effort). However, audiences had a much more positive response, givingt the film an "A" CinemaScore. In that case, Accountant could prove to be a solid performer through November. The budget was $44 million, so distributor Warner Bros. should be in good shape here.
Meanwhile, comedian Kevin Hart returned to his roots with his stand-up movie, What Now? The Universal release came in slightly behind expectations, earning $12 million and tying for second place in estimates (mild $4,669 per-venue average). This is a little bit ahead of his last stand-up movie, Let Me Explain, which pulled in $10 million in its opening weekend (though that was in the summer). Overall, on a budget of just $10 million, this is still a solid start for all involved. Whether or not it plays well will depend on if Hart's fanbase has already come out in droves, though Let Me Explain did hold decently on its way to a $32 million final gross. Reviews were solid (79% on Rotten Tomatoes) and the CinemaScore was an "A-".After a decent start last weekend, The Girl on the Train fell 51% in its sophomore frame to $11.98 million (tying for second place with What Now? in estimates). The book adaptation is at a decent $46.6 million gross in 10 days. Clearly word-of-mouth isn't all that great for the Emily Blunt flick. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (review coming in a couple days) followed with a better hold, down 41% in its third weekend to $8.9 million, for an OK $65.8 million pick-up in 17 days. The Tim Burton flick continues to fare better overseas, with the worldwide gross about to pass $200 million.
Mark Wahlberg's Deepwater Horizon is next up with a 45% decline to $6.4 million, for a mild $49.3 million pick-up in 17 days. While showing overall decent holding power for its genre, a $65-70 million finish still won't be close to enough to make up for a large $120 million production budget (overseas is weak so far too, with only $80 million worldwide so far). Faring a bit better is Storks, which eased 33% in its fourth weekend to $5.6 million. The Warner Bros. production is still only doing so-so business, with $59.1 million picked up in 24 days against a $70 million budget. It does have two more weeks with families until DreamWorks Animation's Trolls launches the holiday season on November 4.
The Magnificent Seven continued to level off solidly (my Dad saw it on Friday with a friend), as the remake was down 42% in its fourth weekend to $5.2 million. The Antoine Fuqua flick has earned a decent $84.8 million in 24 days and has a small chance at ultimately edging past $100 million. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life also had a decent hold, off 38% to $4.3 million, for a fairly weak $13.8 million gross in 10 days. However, on just a $8.5 million budget, a finish above $20 million might be enough to get it into the black for Lionsgate.
Sully continued to play well, off 41% in its sixth weekend to $3 million, for a very solid $118.4 million gross in 42 days. The Tom Hanks and Clint Eastwood flick is at $175 million worldwide. Rounding out the Top 10 was The Birth of a Nation, which had the floor taken out underneath it this weekend. Down 61% to $2.7 million, the controversial historical drama is at a disappointing $12.2 million in 10 days with not much more to go.
Just outside the Top 10, video game adaptation Max Steel failed to even meet the lowest of expectations, pulling in just $2.2 million for a per-venue average of a very weak $1,064. Little marketing and awareness did this one in. Distributor Open Road Films hoped to get the attention of families by appealing to the ratings board to change its' PG-13 rating to a PG, but the ratings board denied it. But, I doubt that would have helped matters either. Reviews were horrible (a rare 0% on Rotten Tomatoes), while audiences gave it a "B" CinemaScore.
That's about it. Next weekend four wide releases will try to give October a much-needed boost. Leading the charge is Tom Cruise sequel Jack Reacher: Never Go Back. Also opening is Tyler Perry's latest cross-dress outing Boo! A Madea Halloween, horror sequel Ouija: Origin of Evil, and spy comedy Keeping Up with the Joneses. Pure Flix also releases their latest faith-based entry, I'm Not Ashamed in semi-wide release. We will see how all of these fare soon.
