Spooky thriller ‘Ouija’ scared up a strong showing at North America's box office this weekend to debut in first place, industry figures showed on Monday.
The supernatural horror flick, about a group of friends who wake an ancient spirit with a Ouija board, earned $19.9 million (about R217.63m) in its opening weekend, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
Another new release, action movie ‘John Wick’, blasted into second place, pushing Brad Pitt's latest war movie ‘Fury’ down to third.
‘John Wick’, starring Keanu Reeves as an ex-hitman who returns from retirement to take revenge on gangsters who attacked him, raked in $14.4 million in ticket sales.
‘Fury’, a gory World War II film that has already been turned into a video game, fell from first place. It earned $13.4 million, putting its two-week total at over $46 million.
‘Gone Girl’, starring Ben Affleck as a husband accused of murdering his wife (Rosamund Pike), was just behind with $11 million - good enough for fourth place, putting its four-week haul at $124 million.
Animated comedy ‘The Book of Life’, featuring the voices of Zoe Saldana and Channing Tatum, was in fifth place at $10 million.
‘St. Vincent’, a comedy starring Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts, jumped into sixth place in its first weekend in wide release.
The film, about a young boy who befriends the crusty war veteran living next door, earned $7.7 million.
Disney's ‘Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’ - based on a children's book of the same name and starring Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner - came in seventh place at just under $7.2 million.
Romance ‘The Best of Me’, starring James Marsden and Michelle Monaghan as high school sweethearts who reunite in their hometown, dropped to eighth place, earning $4.6 million.
Action-horror film ‘Dracula Untold’ - depicting the vampire as a flawed hero in a tragic love tale - fell to ninth place with $4.4 million.
And rounding out the top ten was Robert Downey Jr's much-anticipated ‘The Judge’, co-starring Robert Duvall, with $4.37 million, putting its three-week take at a disappointing $34.4 million. - AFP