Nightcrawler, a dark crime thriller starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a freelance cameraman in the high-speed world of siren-chasing journalism, topped sluggish weekend domestic box office charts with $10.9 million in ticket sales.

Ouija, last weekend’s box office leader, was second by a razor-thin margin, selling just $8,760 fewer in tickets in a weekend slowed by candy-gathering Halloween revellers, according to estimates from tracking firm Rentrak.

The World War II war film Fury was third with $9.1 million for the three days from Friday through Sunday in the US and Canada.

The 33-year old Gyllenhaal, who also produced Nightcrawler, lost 13.5kg to play the role of Louis Bloom as an unemployed misfit who finds success as a cameraman in the sometimes violent world of local TV news. Also starring Bill Paxton and Rene Russo, the film was well received by critics, with 94 per cent of 140 reviewers giving it a ‘fresh’ rating, according to the website Rotten Tomatoes.

Ouija, last weekend’s box office leader, is based on the board game that some believe can contact the dead. The low-budget film has collected $35 million since opening October 24.

Fury, a blood-splattered action film that stars Brad Pitt as a war-hardened tank commander, has rung up more than $60 million in theatres in the US and Canada. The film also stars Shia LaBeouf and Michael Peña.

The Ben Affleck thriller Gone Girl, which led the box office for two weekends in October, continued its strong play. The movie, based on author Gillian Flynn’s bestselling novel of a man accused of killing his wife, was fourth with $8.8 million in sales and has collected $136 million since opening on October 3.