Police drama End of Watch and horror thriller House at the End of the Street tied for the top spot at the North American box office this weekend, with Clint Eastwood’s Trouble with the Curve close behind.
The timing of the horror thriller’s release capitalised on Lawrence’s Hunger Games fame
Each of the top films brought in $13 million respectively at US and Canadian box offices.
The gritty End of Watch, written and directed by the writer of 2001 crime drama Training Day, David Ayer, brought in $13 million at US and Canadian box offices.
The opening by End of Watch was the largest for independent film distribution company Open Road, a two-year-old joint venture between theatre chains AMC and Regal. Its two other films this year, Hit and Run and Silent House, opened with less than $7 million apiece.
Open Road CEO Tom Ortenberg said End of Watch was successful because it appealed to a wide swathe of moviegoers.
House at the End of the Street, which features Jennifer Lawrence in her first role since this year’s blockbuster The Hunger Games, also brought in $13 million.
The timing of the horror thriller’s release capitalised on Lawrence’s Hunger Games fame, said Relativity president of distribution Kyle Davies.
The film primarily targeted young females and did a large share of marketing through mobile-phone-based applications.
Baseball film Trouble with the Curve was hot on the heels of the top films, taking in $12.7 million, according to box office estimates released on Sunday. The film is Clint Eastwood’s first starring role in four years and comes less than a month after his headline-grabbing speech at the Republican national convention.
Rounding out the top five was the 3D re-release of Finding Nemo with $9.4 million and Resident Evil: Retribution with $6.7 million. Both films premiered in theatres last weekend.
Action film Dredd disappointed with a mere $6.3 million on its debut weekend, failing to crack the top five and coming in below expectations.
Though the overall box office is down when compared to last year, a couple of independent films have performed strongly.
“The bright spots are the indie films like The Master and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which are both doing terrific business in their limited runs,” said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst at Hollywood.com.