Propelled by the popularity of Paula Hawkins’ bestselling book, the film adaptation of The Girl on the Train led North American ticket sales over the weekend with $24.7m, according to studio estimates on Sunday.
Less successful was Nate Parker’s Nat Turner biopic The Birth of a Nation, which opened with a disappointing $7.1m.
Receipts were affected by weather conditions in the south-eastern US, where Hurricane Matthew caused damage and severe flooding throughout the weekend.
The weekend’s other wide release, Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life, attempted to court younger crowds, opening to $6.9m from 2,822 theaters. The film follows a teenager who cooks up a series of pranks to embarrass his autocratic principal. It is based on a popular series of books by James Patterson. CBS Films produced the movie for $11m, with Lionsgate distributing.
Last weekend’s champ, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, fell roughly 50% to $15m for a second-place finish. That puts the Tim Burton fantasy’s total at $51.1m. Fox backed the film, which cost $110m.
Lionsgate’s Deepwater Horizon continued to struggle, taking in $11.7m, bringing its domestic total to $38.5m. The action-drama about the men and women caught up in one of the worst oil spills in history earned solid reviews, but cost a whopping $120m after tax credits were taken into account.
Sony’s The Magnificent Seven took fourth place with $9.1m, pushing the western remake’s haul to $75.9m. Storks, the Warner Bros animated comedy, rounded out the top five with $8.4m, bringing its US receipts to $50.1m.
Check out the Oct 7-9 weekend box office estimates below:
1. The Girl on Train – $24.7 million
2. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children – $15 million
3. Deepwater Horizon – $11.8 million
4. The Magnificent Seven – $9.2
5. Storks – $8.5
6. The Birth of a Nation – $7.1 million
7. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life – $6.9 million
8. Sully – $5.3 million
9. Masterminds – $4.1 million
10. Queen of Katwe – $1.6 million
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