WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — Financial thriller “The Accountant” booked $24.7 million in ticket receipts on its opening weekend to score number one at the North American box office, industry data showed on Monday.
The Warner Bros. film centers on an autistic mathematics savant who capitalizes on his fondness for numbers by becoming an undercover forensic accountant for criminal organizations.
Starring Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick, the film opened to mixed reviews but yielded more than forecasters expected.
Psychological thriller “The Girl on the Train,” starring Emily Blunt as a depressed, alcoholic divorcee who witnesses something odd as she rides a commuter train, dropped down one place on its second weekend with $12.2 million.
It narrowly edged stand-up comedy film “Kevin Hart: What Now?” which had to settle for third place with $11.8 million, according to box office monitor Exhibitor Relations.
Tim Burton’s fantasy tale “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” fell to fourth with $9 million, cumulatively earning $65.9 million over three weeks.
Burton’s latest movie, from 20th Century Fox and Chernin Entertainment, tells the story of a headmistress (Eva Green) at an orphanage in Wales full of odd youngsters with magical powers.
Mark Wahlberg’s oil-rig thriller “Deepwater Horizon” from Lionsgate came in at number five with $6.4 million.
The film, directed by Peter Berg and also starring Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Kate Hudson and Gina Rodriguez, follows the deadly 2010 Transocean and BP oil rig explosion and spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Rounding out the top 10 films were:
“Storks” ($5.7 million)
“The Magnificent Seven” ($5.2 million)
“Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life” ($4.3 million)
“Sully” ($2.9 million)
“The Birth of a Nation” ($2.7 million)
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