David Fincher’s adaptation of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl now has the distinction as the director’s best opening weekend ever with $38 million, but it was still barely enough to edge past Annabelle, a horror movie about a creepy doll (named Annabelle) that came in a close second with $37.2 million. Buoyed by solid reviews, Gone Girl managed to bring in more revenue despite screening in fewer theaters than Annabelle (about 170). Overall, it was a strong box-office weekend with the top 12 movies hauling in $141 million, up 44.3 percent from last weekend when Denzel Washington’s vigilante thriller The Equalizer took the weekend. The Equalizer came in third this weekend with $19 million, and The Boxtrolls was fourth with $12.4 million. Sticking around the top five was The Maze Runner, which brought in $12 million. Ticket sales also increased 19 percent from the same weekend last year when Gravity premiered with $55.7 million. People sure like creepy.
