Friday Report: 'Annabelle,' 'Gone Girl' on Track for $30-Million-Plus this Weekend
Annabelle and Gone Girl both had impressive debuts on Friday. While the creepy doll took the top spot on opening day, the David Fincher adaptation should win the weekend.

Playing at 3,185 theaters, Annabelle opened to a very strong $15.5 million. That's not too far off from The Conjuring, which took in just under $17 million on its first day.

Still, the history of horror sequels (or in this case, a prequel) suggests that Annabelle's weekend will be fairly front-loaded. If it performs in line with Paranormal Activity 3 and Insidious Chapter 2, it will wind up with $31 million for the three-day frame.

Gone Girl took second place with an estimated $13.2 million. That's significantly higher than comparable October titles like Captain Phillips ($8.5 million), Argo ($5.9 million) and The Social Network ($8 million). In fact, it's the biggest opening day ever for director David Fincher.

If Gone Girl follows The Social Network's pattern, it will end the weekend with $37 million. On the high end, it could play like Gravity and wind up with $42 million.

The Equalizer fell 55 percent to $5.6 million, which brings its eight-day total to a solid $51.1 million. For the weekend, the Denzel Washington action movie should earn around $18 million.

In fourth place, The Maze Runner eased 34 percent to $3.4 million. That's another great hold for the young-adult adaptation, which continues to look like it could wind up north of $100 million (through 15 days, its banked $65.4 million). Meanwhile, The Boxtrolls added $2.74 million for an eight-day total of $22.9 million.

The Maze Runner and The Boxtrolls should each earn around $11 million this weekend.

Playing at 1,825 theaters, the Left Behind remake opened in sixth place with $2.36 million. That's a bit lower than God's Not Dead, which debuted to $2.8 million at just 780 locations. Still, this is a very solid debut that should translate in to around $7 million for the weekend.

Weekend Projections

1. Gone Girl - $39 million

2. Annabelle - $32 million

3. The Equalizer - $18 million

4. The Maze Runner - $11.5 million

5. The Boxtrolls - $11 million

6. Left Behind - $7 million

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Related Charts:

Grosses for Friday, October 3, 2014

• 2014 Domestic Box Office