Box Office Results: Ouija Scares Up $20 Million

The ComingSoon.net Box Office Report has been updated with studio estimates for the weekend. Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films and then check back on Monday for the final figures based on actual box office.

The weekend before Halloween saw an obligatory horror film in the form of Ouija (Universal), pairing Blumhouse Productions and Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes for a low-budget supernatural thriller based on the popular Hasbro sleepover party game. Opening on Thursday night and taking in $8.3 million in its first 24 hours, Ouija ended up with an estimated $20 million for the weekend in its 2,858 locations, or $7,000 per theater. 69% of the audience for the movie was female, but its “C” CinemaScore is not a good sign for the movie sustaining any sort of legs even with Halloween next Friday.

Taking a strong second place was Keanu Reeves’ revenge thriller John Wick (Lionsgate), which scored approximately $14.2 million in 2,589 theaters, an average of $5,465 per site. It’s Keanu’s best showing since 2008’s The Day the Earth Stood Still remake almost six years ago.

Brad Pitt’s WWII tank movie Fury, directed by David Ayer, followed closely behind in third place with $13 million and $46.1 million in its first ten days of domestic release.

David Fincher’s Gone Girl (20th Century Fox), starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, continued its strong run for the month with another $11.1 million (down 37%) to bring its domestic total to $124.1 million. That makes it the highest-grossing movie of the fall movie season.

In fifth place, 20th Century Fox’s animated adventure The Book of Life added another $9.8 million to its domestic take of $29.9 million.

The Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy comedy St. Vincent (The Weinstein Co.) expanded nationwide into 2,282 theaters after grossing a million in limited release, and it had a strong presence in sixth place with roughly $8.1 million. Its “A-” CinemaScore is a good sign that the movie was able to connect with its intended audience.

That was followed in seventh place with $7 million by Disney’s family comedy Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, starring Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner, which has grossed $45.5 million so far.

The latest Nicholas Sparks romantic drama The Best of Me (Relativity), starring Michelle Monaghan, James Marsden, Luke Bracey and Liana Liberato, tanked in its second weekend, down 54% to fifth place with $4.8 million. With $17.7 million grossed so far, it’s looking to become one of the biggest Nicholas Sparks bombs to date.

The Robert Downey-Robert Duvall dramedy The Judge (Warner Bros.) took ninth place with $4.3 million, just ahead of Universal Pictures’ Dracula Untold, starring Luke Evans, which rounded out the Top 10 with $4.3 million (down 57%) and $48.3 million domestic gross. The Judge has grossed $34.4 million so far. Despite its relatively weak showing in North America, Dracula Untold has grossed $166 million worldwide with another $14.7 million added in overseas markets this weekend.

The Top 10 grossed an estimated $96.5 million, which is slightly better than the same weekend last year when Johnny Knoxville’s Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa (Paramount) won the weekend with $32.1 million and Ridley Scott’s star-studded crime-thriller The Counselor (20th Century Fox) bombed with just $7.8 million in over 3,000 theaters.

Although New Line’s horror prequel Annabelle fell outside the Top 10 with $3.3 million, it’s being reported that it’s now grossed over $200 million with just $79.5 million of that grossed in North America. Being that the movie reportedly cost $6.5 million to produce, that’s another hugely profitable horror movie for New Line following last year’s The Conjuring. This past week, it was announced that director James Wan would be returning for the sequel to the 2013 horror hit.

Disney Animation Studios released their upcoming Big Hero 6 in Russia, two weeks before its North American release, to take advantage of school holidays there, and it grossed $4.8 million, which is more than previous Disney releases like Wreck-It Ralph and Monsters University.

In its second weekend, Alejandro Inarritu’s acclaimed Birdman (Fox Searchlight, starring Michael Keaton, expanded into 50 theaters where it took in $1.4 million, or $28 thousand per theater, for a $2 million total after ten days.

Filmmaker Justin Simien’s debut Dear White People (Roadside Attractions) expanded into 384 theaters where it took in $1.3 million, or $3,422 per site, to bring its total to $1.8 million.

Two movies opened in five theaters each with the Laura Poitras doc Citizenfour (RADiUS-TWC) about Edward Snowden taking in an estimated $125.2 thousand or $23 thousand per site to the $78 thousand taken in by Lynn Shelton’s Laggies (A24), starring Keira Knightley and Sam Rockwell, which averaged $15.7 thousand per location.

Click here for the full box office estimates of the top 12 films.