David Fincher‘s sceen version of Gone Girl, the high-profile thriller starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, and horror spinoff Annabelle both impressed as they began rolling out in theaters Thursday night, providing a much-needed boost for the North American box office following the worst September in six years.
Gone Girl, based on Gillian Flynn‘s popular novel, grossed $1.3 million, a pleasing number for an adult drama. Last year, Gravity earned $1.4 million on its first Thursday night on its way to a record $55.7 million debut, while Captain Phillips took in $600,000 on its way a $27.5 million weekend (Gone Girl is far less mainstream than Gravity).
Fox predicts that Gone Girl will open in the $20 million to $22 million range, but some tracking services suggest the $61 million film could cross $25 million. Either way, it could find itself in a close race with Annabelle..
Adult dramas like Gone Girl generally don’t open big but can have impressive legs. That holds true for virtually all of Fincher’s films. The Social Network opened to $22.5 million domestically on its way to earning $95 million. And two years before that, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, benefiting from stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, debuted to $26.9 million on its way to earning $127.5 million domestically.
Ben Affleck‘s Argo also built slowly, opening to $19.5 million on its way to winning the Oscar and earning $136 million domestically.
Gone Girl, a dark thriller about a tormented marriage, has plenty of pedigree between Fincher, Affleck and Flynn’s novel, which has sold more than six million copies in hardcover.
Flynn also wrote the adapted script for the movie, which opened the NY Film Fest, September 26, sparking immediate debate about its Oscar potentials.
According to tracking, older women are most interested in seeing Gone Girl.
