‘Girl On The Train’ Chugs To The Top, ‘Birth Of A Nation’ Struggles [Box Office]

Despite tepid reviews, Universal’s “Gone Girl”-esque thriller “The Girl On The Train” easily won the box office this early October weekend. Making a sizable $24.6 million, that’s perhaps not the greatest number for a film on more than 3,000 screens, but relative to recent theatrical openings, and considering its poor reviews (44% on Rotten Tomatoes), it’s a decent opening. But its future may not be bright; a B- Cinemascore won’t help and Ben Affleck’s “The Accountant,” another thriller, could consume its audience next week.

READ MORE: Joyless ‘The Girl On The Train’ Could’ve Benefitted From Going Off The Rails A Little More [Review]

Mired in controversy, to say the least, Fox Searchlight’s “The Birth Of A Nation” arrived at lower than the studio’s expectations. It’s a difficult one to unpack. After huge raves at Sundance, the film was poised to become a major Oscar player, but after its rape allegations for director Nate Parker, its narrative went south. How much did the negative publicity hurt the film? It’s hard to quantify given we’ll never know how much it would have opened to without the terrible press. One thing’s for sure: Fox Searchlight seems to be backing away from the film as Parker allegedly hasn’t been taking their advice on the campaign trail to heal the movie’s narrative. Don’t be surprised if they cut their losses with this one and start to diminish theater count if the film doesn’t appear to have legs at the box office.

Did anyone know that Lionsgate was releasing a comedy called “Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life” this weekend? Coming in at number 7, the film grossed $6.9 million on 2,822 screens. Not great, but pretty decent for a film that had zero buzz.

In holdover releases, Tim Burton’s “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” had a good hold in week two, falling only 48.0%. Strong footing was the story for many of the films in their second and third weeks of release. “Deepwater Horizon” had a good grip with only -41.9% in week two, in week three “The Magnificent Seven” only fell 41.0%, and “Storks” held on with a very mild -37.3%.

The story of the fall, however, is Clint Eastwood’s “Sully.” It’s been a consistent performer, only dipping 36.3% in its fifth week, and the surprisingly excellent drama — Eastwood’s been touch-and-go for several years — has quietly grossed $113 million domestically. It’s made $167 million worldwide and at this pace could likely hit $200 million globally — a big coup for a relatively small-scale drama in 2016.

READ MORE: Tom Hanks And Clint Eastwood Stir Miracle On The Hudson Emotions In ‘Sully’ [Telluride Review]

Flopping hard last week, Relativity’s “Masterminds” had a surprising hold of -37.3%, but the studio seems done. Its chief, Ryan Kavanaugh, is already trying to sell it off after Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year. Rounding out the top 10, Disney’s “Queen Of Katwe” dropped only 35% and stands at $5.3 million after two weeks.

Not one film in limited release had an exceptional opening. Instead, “The Greasy Strangler,” “Blue Jay,” “Theo Who Lived” and “Newtown” all fell flat. That said, these are all the kinds of films that recoup digitally or on VOD.

In milestone marks, “Suicide Squad” has almost hit $750 million world-wide — very strong for a film that looked like it was going to underperform at first. Currently, it’s the eighth-highest-grossing film of the year domestically ($322 million) and globally (though to be fair, its exorbitant cost and marketing means at these figures, the movie’s probably just breaking even).

1. The Girl On The Train — $24,660,000
2. Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children — $15,000,000 ($51,053,483)
3. Deepwater Horizon — $11,750,000 ($38,518,388)
4. The Magnificent Seven — $9,150,000 ($75,915,393)
5. Storks — $8,450,000 ($50,118,494)
6. The Birth Of A Nation — $7,100,000
7. Middle School: The Worst Years Of My Life — $6,900,000
8. Sully — $5,270,000 ($113,485,432)
9. Masterminds — $4,100,000 ($12,788,325)
10. Queen Of Katwe — $1,618,000 ($5,384,636)