NORTH AMERICA: ‘Gone Girl’ Surpasses $80M Mark after Leading Columbus Day with $3.95M; ‘Alexander’ Places in a Close Second with $3.68M

Fox’s Gone Girl led the daily box office on Monday with a Columbus Day take of $3.95 million. Thanks to the holiday boost and continued strong word of mouth, the critically acclaimed David Fincher directed film starring Ben Affleck was down 44 percent from Sunday and up a strong 21 percent over last Monday. Gone Girl surpassed the $80 million mark yesterday and has grossed a very impressive $81.84 million in eleven days of release. That places the film 70 percent ahead of the $48.21 million eleven-day take of 2010’s The Social Network and 86 percent ahead of the $44.05 million eleven-day gross of 2012’s Argo.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day took second with $3.68 million. The family film from Disney starring Steve Carell and Jennifer Garner was down just 28 percent from Sunday. Columbus Day is traditionally a strong day for family films and that was certainly the case yesterday for Alexander. With $22.04 million in four days, Alexander is off to a very solid start (especially with its modest price tag in mind), and continues to perform in line with expectations. Alexander is currently running 4 percent behind the $23.16 million four-day start of 2010’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Universal’s Dracula Untold claimed third place with $2.65 million. The action horror film starring Luke Evans fell 54 percent from Sunday. Dracula Untold has grossed a stronger than expected $26.17 million in its first four days. That places the film 5 percent behind the $27.42 million four-day gross of 2012’s Underworld Awakening.

Warner’s The Judge followed in fourth with $1.83 million. The Robert Downey Jr. led drama was down 44 percent from Monday’s performance. The Judge continues to perform on the low end of expectations with $14.95 million in four days. However, the film is running 44 percent ahead of the $10.39 million four-day start of 2009’s The Soloist.

Fellow Warner Bros. release Annabelle rounded out Monday’s top five with $1.58 million. The low-budget spin-off to The Conjuring was down 59 percent from Sunday and down 32 percent from last Monday. Annabelle continues to exceed expectations with $63.22 million in eleven days. That places the film 4 percent ahead of the $60.83 million eleven-day gross of last year’s Insidious Chapter 2.

Sony’s The Equalizer claimed sixth with $1.32 million. In the process, the Denzel Washington led action thriller surpassed the $80 million mark on Monday. The 18-day total for the film stands at a very solid $81.29 million. The Equalizer fell 46 percent from Sunday and a slim 3 percent from last Monday.