Nightcrawler And Ouija Neck And Neck At The Halloween Box Office NEW YORK (AP) — In a scary close finish, the Jake Gyllenhaal crime thriller Nightcrawler and the board-game adaptation Ouija tied for first at the box office with $10.9 million each over the Halloween weekend. That was according to estimates Sunday from each films distributor. Studios can predict a films Sunday performance with fairly accurate precision. When final figures are announced Monday, one film will likely slightly edge out the other. For Open Roads low-budget Los Angeles noir Nightcrawler, it was a strong debut considering its creepy, unconventional protagonist. Gyllenhaal plays an ambulance-chasing man who shoots gory footage for the local news. The independent, R-rated film was able to capitalize on a weekend the studios were frightened away from. With Halloween falling on a Friday, trick-or-treating cannibalized one of the most lucrative moviegoing nights of the week. Grosses were down 40 percent Friday from the same weekend a year ago, according to box-office tracker Rentrak. Most studios know when Halloween falls on a Friday, usually theyre not good days, said Universals distribution head, Nikki Rocco. People party. Its a holiday, and its not a moviegoing holiday. Open Roads estimate for Nightcrawler was technically $8,760 above Universals number for Ouija. But that tiny margin may not hold up when receipts from Sunday are counted. Other studios had Ouija as narrowly edging Nightcrawler. Weve seen squeakers over the years but this is one of the closest ones Ive ever seen, said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Rentrak. Its a testament to the holding power of Ouija. Despite the Halloween night impact, Ouija dropped only 45 percent after topping the box office last weekend. Thats unusually low for a micro-budget horror film, most of which see interest wane considerably after opening. But Universal opened the horror film a weekend ahead of Halloween to give it a two-week window. The close contest added drama to one of the quietest movie weekends of the year. Overall business was down 25 percent from the prior year. Said Dergarabedian: The scariest thing about this weekend was that Halloween fell on a Friday. Next weekend will be a far different story, though, with the highly anticipated release of Christopher Nolans sci-fi epic Interstellar, as well as Disneys animated superhero film Big Hero 6. In the meantime, the Brad Pitt World War II tale Fury held in third place with $9.1 million in its third week of release. In its fifth week, the Ben Affleck thriller Gone Girl also remained in fourth with an additional $8.8 million to its $136.6 million cumulative total to make it the highest grossing release of director David Finchers career. ___ Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Rentrak. Where available, the latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday. 1. (tie) Nightcrawler, $10.9 million ($1.4 million international). 1. (tie) Ouija, $10.9 million. ($5.7 million international). 3. Fury, $9.1 million ($14.6 million international). 4. Gone Girl, $8.8 million ($15.3 million international). 5. The Book of Life, $8.3 million ($6.1 million international). 6. John Wick, $8.1 million ($6.6 million international). 7. St. Vincent, $7.8 million. 8. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, $6.5 million ($1.8 million international). 9. The Judge, $3.4 million ($4.3 million international). 10. Dracula Untold, $3 million ($12.4 million international). ___ Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada), according to Rentrak: 1. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, $34.7 million. 2. The Maze Runner, $23.8 million. 3. Gone Girl, $15.3 million. 4. Fury, $14.6 million. 5. Annabelle, $13.5 million. 6. Dracula Untold, $12.4 million. 7. Kung Fu Jungle, $9.3 million. 8. (tie) John Wick, $6.6 million. 8. (tie) Lucy, $6.6 million. 10. The Book of Life, $6.1 million. ___ Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by 21st Century Fox; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC. ___ Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: ift.tt/1nYK9hN.
Posted on: Sun, 02 Nov 2014 20:08:42 +0000
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