It was an incredibly tight race at the box office this weekend, but it appears the critically acclaimed new thriller 'Nightcrawler” took the top spot by just $9,000. And, no, that's not a typo.
The directorial debut of Dan Gilroy, “Nightcrawler” arguably features the best performance of Jake Gyllenhaal's career and has earned a superb 94% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The fact Halloween was on a Friday diminished some of its impact, but “Nightcrawler” still found an estimated $10,909,000 over its first three days. Distributor Open Road Films will have to hope it can stand tall against the onslaught of “Interstellar” and “Big Hero 6” next weekend.
Not far behind in the second slot was Universal Pictures horror flick “Ouija.” The film has gotten horrible reviews from both critics and the public (it earned just a C Cinemascore rating), but it still managed another $10,900,000 for $34.9 million in just 10 days. With a reported budget of just $5 million its already a profitable endeavor for Universal.
Since weekend estimates are just that, estimates, everyone will be looking to Monday's actual results to see who won the weekend. With such a small difference between the two films it could easily flip for “Ouija” tomorrow.
Significantly behind in third was Brad Pitt's “Fury” with another $9.1 million for $60.4 million to date.
David Fincher hit a milestone this weekend as “Gone Girl” surpassed “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” to become the highest grossing picture, domestically, of his career. “Girl,” which finished fourth over the frame, took in another $8.8 million for $136.6 million to date and $279 million worldwide. The potential best picture nominee should end up with over $150 million in the U.S. when all is said and done.
20th Century Fox and Reel FX's “The Book of Life” remained in fifth with another $8.3 million and $40.5 million to date.
Worth noting, The Weinstein Company's “St. Vincent.” was up 1% in its second wide weekend with another $7.7 million for seventh place. The dramedy added 270 theaters for a total count of 2,552, but considering the Halloween weekend that's a fairly impressive hold. The Bill Murray flick has now grossed $19.5 million and a final U.S. tally over over $30 million is assured.
New releases this week include “Interstellar” on IMAX Wednesday and then nationwide on Friday along with Disney's “Big Hero 6.”