Ouija summons the money!
Audiences were looking for some Halloween spirit this weekend, putting the supernatural thriller OUIJA at the top of the box office with an estimated $20 million!
Moviegoers didn't exactly have a lot of options for spooky chills at theaters (THE CONJURING spinoff ANNABELLE has already fled the Top 10 and DRACULA UNTOLD is just barely fanging on), but it was still enough to push the Michael Bay-produced PG-13 fright flick to #1.
Based on the popular board game/otherworldly communication device, the movie had a modest reported cost of just $5 million — pretty far from the $100 million McG-directed action-adventure version that was planned a few years ago. Neither critics nor crowds were terribly impressed with the attempted ghostly terror (10% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 'C' CinemaScore).
Opening in second place was the new Keanu Reeves hitman revenge movie JOHN WICK with $14.1 million. That's a better start than the last time Reeves fronted an action movie in the far more expensive 47 RONIN, which only started with a $9.9 million weekend last December.
Reeves' R-rated turn as an assassin seeking fierce retribution for his murdered puppy seemed to provide plenty of visceral satisfaction — the movie currently has an 86% average on Rotten Tomatoes from both critics and audiences.
Slowing to third was last weekend's winner FURY with $13 million. The gritty R-rated WWII movie geared down by 45% from its opening. Behind the Brad Pitt-powered tank was David Fincher's thriller GONE GIRL, still going strong in fourth place after four weeks with another $11.1 million and a $242 million worldwide total.
In fifth place was the Guillermo del Toro-produced computer-animated family feature THE BOOK OF LIFE with $9.8 million, a drop of 42% from its opening. The Bill Murray comedy ST. VINCENT wasn't far behind, taking sixth place with $8 million as it expanded from limited release to nearly 2300 screens.
Disney's ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY was in seventh place while the latest Nicholas Sparks adaptation THE BEST OF ME dipped 52% from its opening to eighth with $4.7 million. The Robert Downey, Jr. legal drama THE JUDGE and the revamped vamp DRACULA UNTOLD closed out the list.
Outside the chart, ANNABELLE left along with THE EQUALIZER and THE MAZE RUNNER (both still stretching toward $100 million). In limited release, the acclaimed Michael Keaton showcase BIRDMAN expanded to 50 locations and made $1.4 million, while the Edward Snowden documentary CITIZENFOUR had a $25k per-screen average and the Keira Knightley/Chloe Moretz romcom LAGGIES pulled in $15k per-screen.
Next weekend has Jake Gyllenhaal prowling the seedy Los Angeles underbelly in NIGHTCRAWLER, Nicole Kidman stars in the thriller BEFORE I GO TO SLEEP, Daniel Radcliffe has an evil problem in HORNS, and the original SAW gets a 10th anniversary re-release.
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| # | MOVIE TITLE | WKND $ | TOTAL $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ouija | $20 M | NEW |
| 2 | John Wick | $14.1 M | NEW |
| 3 | Fury | $13 M | $46 M |
| 4 | Gone Girl | $11.1 M | $124 M |
| 5 | The Book of Life | $9.8 M | $29.9 M |
| 6 | Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day | $7 M | $45.5 M |
| 7 | St. Vincent | $8 M | $9.1 M |
| 8 | The Best of Me | $4.7 M | $17.6 M |
| 9 | The Judge | $4.3 M | $34.3 M |
| 10 | Dracula Untold | $4.3 M | $48.3 M |