|
Sunday's estimate came in significantly above expectations,
which had ranged from $18 million to $20 million at the start of
the weekend.
Comedy concert film "Kevin Hart: What Now?" delivered about half
of "The Accountant" total with $12 million at 2,568 locations.
But the debut of sci-fi adventure "Max Steel" was ignored by
moviegoers with $2.1 million at 2,034 screens for a dismal
$1,049 per-screen average.
Warner Bros.' "The Accountant" took in $200,000 more than last
weekend's winner, "The Girl on the Train," which opened with
$24.5 million. The Emily Blunt thriller finished in a tie for
second with "Kevin Hart: What Now?"
"The Accountant" carries a moderate $40 million price tag with
Affleck portraying an autistic math savant and weapons expert
who cooks the books for criminal organizations. Gavin O'Connor
directs from a script by Bill Dubuque. Anna Kendrick, J.K.
Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow also
star. Prospects for holdover business are decent with an A
CinemaScore, particularly with 86% of customers over 25.
"The Accountant" opened quietly in 10 international markets with
$2.8 million from 1,190 screens, led by $755,000 at 109 sites in
Taiwan. It will open next weekend in Brazil, Germany and Spain.
Warner-based Affleck has a strong track record in dramas with
2010's "The Town," which grossed $154 million worldwide; 2012's
Best Picture Oscar winner "Argo," with $232 million worldwide;
and 2014's "Gone Girl," with $369 million worldwide. His
Prohibition-era crime drama "Live by Night" opens on Christmas
and he'll return as Batman in "Justice League" on Nov. 17, 2017.
"Kevin Hart: What Now?" is a look at the final performance of
his most recent comedy tour, filmed in August, 2015, at
Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field -- and book-ended by
James Bond-style spoof sequences in which Hart teams with Halle
Berry as his loyal but dismissive associate. Leslie Small and
Tim Story directed.
The concert film is already a money-maker with production costs
under $10 million. Hart's a proven performer in this genre with
2013's "Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain" having grossed $32 million
domestically.
Open Road is handling "Max Steel," based on Mattel's line of
action figures and starring Ben Winchell of MTV's "Finding
Carter." The film, produced focuses on the teenage Max McGrath
and alien companion Steel, who evolve into the superhero Max
Steel.
Fox's third weekend of "Miss Perregrine's Home for Peculiar
Children" finished fourth with $8.9 million at 3,538 locations,
giving the Tim Burton fantasy $65.8 million after 17 days.
Lionsgate's third frame of Mark Wahlberg disaster drama
"Deepwater Horizon" followed in fifth with $6.4 million at 3,403
sites for a $49.3 million domestic total.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
