Brad Pitt returned to the top spot at the box office, but the real story this weekend has to do with a former Batman.

In at number 1 is Fury (read our review) with $23.5 million. Fury was a big hit with male audiences, especially those over 35, but it failed to make much of a splash with females. Clearly, the focus on action helped and hurt the film.

Even so, Fury should have no problem holding well as the critical buzz and word of mouth continues to spread. Look for the film to finish somewhere north of $70 million.

Gone Girl is the number 2 film this weekend with $17.8 million. David Fincher’s adaptation has now eclipsed the $100 million mark, bringing its domestic total up to $107 million. Gone Girl should end up around $160M, which would make it David Fincher’s highest-grossing film ever.

Coming in at number 3 is The Book of Life (read our review) with $17 million. The film hit similar numbers to other smaller animated features, but is still well under the average for the genre. Its success is ultimately going to come down to staying power, and whether The Book of Life can keep families interested for several weeks.

The number 4 film is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day with $12 million. Alexander held pretty well from last weekend and has grossed $36 million.

Rounding out the top 5 is The Best of Me with $10.2 million. That’s the worst debut for a Nicholas Spark adaptation ever, which is surprising considering the author’s pull among young female viewers. The Best of Me did hold some appeal with the younger female demographic but clearly it wasn’t enough to make a dent on the box office.

In at number 6 is Dracula Untold with $9.8 million. It was a steep drop for the latest Dracula film, but that isn’t entirely surprising. So far the film has grossed $40 million.

The Judge is the number 7 film this weekend with $7.94 million. Robert Downey Jr’s latest drama has grossed a decent $26 million sum so far.

Coming in at number 8 is Annabelle with $7.92 million. The horror spinoff of The Conjuring has made $70 million over the past three weeks.

Denzel Washington’s The Equalizer comes in at number 9 with $5.4 million. The film has done solid business since release and will likely bow out of the top 10 with $89 million.

Rounding out the top 10 is The Maze Runner with $4.5 million. The YA adaptation has hit $90 million, which is much better than many of its contemporaries.

Outside the top 10: the big story this weekend is Birdman, the Michael Keaton-led drama about an aging actor trying to reclaim his former glory. Although the film was only available in four locations, Birdman opened to an impressive $415,000.

With $103,750 per screen, Birdman had the ninth best average for a live-action film ever. The film will continue to expand in the coming weeks, and with buzz building, we wouldn’t be surprise if Birdman was part of the box office conversation for a long while.

[NOTE: These are only weekend box office estimates - based on Friday and Saturday ticket sales coupled with adjusted expectations for Sunday. Official weekend box office results will be released on Monday, October 13th - at which time we'll update this post with any changes.]


http://screenrant.com/fury-book-of-l...an-box-office/