1. Doctor Strange (review)- $84.9M
At this point we've come to expect any Marvel movie is going to open as a chart-topper. Doctor Strange is the 14th MCU film and the 14th-straight to debut at #1. This time it's with a strong $84.9M, which is considerably more than Ant-Man's $57M and just shy of Guardians of the Galaxy's $94M. I reference those only because together these are the most off-beat Marvel movies, based on the characters audiences don't know much about. But even if we add the more familiar Avengers into the mix, Doctor Strange bests the first films for Captain America and Thor, while comparing nicely to Iron Man's $102M debut in 2008. In short, if the plan is to make Doctor Strange the new central character of the MCU then they're on steady ground. Worldwide the good doctor has taken in $325M after debuting internationally last week.
2. Trolls (review)- $45.6M
Don't sleep on the little toy Trolls littering your co-workers desk. They're liable to wake up and score a hit movie for Dreamworks. The Anna Kendrick/Justin Timberlake musical comedy got off to a song of a start with $45M, plus an additional $104M overseas. We're probably looking at the launch of a brand new franchise here, and while the film isn't quite as good as some of Dreamworks' others, its numbers are just a head of How to Train Your Dragon in 2010, and we know how well that has done.
3. Hacksaw Ridge (review)- $14.7M
It was good news all around for Mel Gibson's war drama, Hacksaw Ridge, which stars Andrew Garfield as conscientious objector Desmond Doss. The WWII film opened with $14M, setting the $40M production on a decent path headed into the awards season where Garfield is considered by some to be a factor. It'll be interesting to see how it fares when other adult-skewing dramas start arriving, but the generally positive reviews (I had my share of issues with it) from critics and audiences bodes well.
4. Boo! A Madea Halloween- $7.8M/$64.9M
5. Inferno- $6.2M/$26M
6. The Accountant- $5.9M/$70.8M
Can I just spare a moment to put some shine on The Accountant, the Ben Affleck-led autistic math savant/assassin thriller that has quietly earned $70M domestic and $109M worldwide? It's actually become a solid little earner for Warner Bros. after four weeks and should stick around a while longer based largely on the strength of Affleck's name.
7. Jack Reacher: Never Go Back- $5.5M/$49.2M
8. Ouija: Origin of Evil- $3.9M/$31.3M
9. The Girl On the Train- $2.7M/$70.7M
10. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children- $2.1M/$83.3M
