girl-on-a-train

Hurricane Matthew took a bit of a bite out of the box office this weekend, but those that did turn out, did so for ‘The Girl On The Train’, starring Emily Blunt, based on the book by Paula Hawkins.  Directed by Tate Taylor, the film delivered $24.7 million in its opening weekend.

Universal domestic distribution chief Nick Carpou said:

“This is a big moment for Emily Blunt, who absolutely carries this movie.”

Indeed, Hollywood has seemingly been scrambling to find SOMETHING to do with the charismatic Blunt, since she made such a splash in ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ even so much as trying to shoehorn her into a Marvel role.  It appears she doesn’t need to bother, as this cements her as a leading lady to contend with.

Unfortunately, the reviews for this film are pretty awful.  (44% on Rotten Tomatoes.)  This movie will not be hanging out at this perch for long.

Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children‘ slipped to #2 in the domestic box office, but ruled internationally, inching closer to the $100M mark.

Sundance darling ‘The Birth Of A Nation’ failed to crack the Top Five, possibly due to the revelation that the movie, based on the life of Nat Turner, was mostly fabricated.  Director Nate Parker was also embroiled in a sexual scandal a few months ago, which may have also scared some off, in light of… well you know… “Grab ’em by the…” you know.

The rest of the Top Five were also hold overs from last week.

  1. Girl On The Train (Universal) – $24.7M
  2. Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children (20th Century Fox) – $15M
  3. Deepwater Horizon (Lionsgate) – $11.8M
  4. Magnificent Seven (Sony) – $9.2M
  5. Storks (Warner Brothers) – $8.5M

Next weekend should belong to Ben Affleck/Anna Kendrick’s ‘The Accountant’.  There’s also a Kevin Hart stand up movie, but I don’t expect much from that and there’s also the ‘Max Steel’ movie that no one even realized was being made.  (Coming to the $5 DVD dump bin at a Walmart near you!)

Did you hit the theater this weekend?  What did you see?

Source: Comscore