LOS ANGELES — The crime thriller “Nightcrawler” starring Jake Gyllenhaal and the horror flick “Ouija” essentially tied for first in a traditionally slow Halloween weekend at the box office.
LOS ANGELES — The crime thriller “Nightcrawler” starring Jake Gyllenhaal and the horror flick “Ouija” essentially tied for first in a traditionally slow Halloween weekend at the box office.
Both films grossed an estimated $10.9 million in the U.S. and Canada. With Halloween falling on a Friday, total box-office receipts of $96 million were down about 24.9 percent compared with the same weekend last year, when Halloween fell on a Thursday, according to research company Rentrak.
In 2008, the last time Halloween fell on a Friday, total box-office receipts fell 37 percent compared with the same weekend in 2007.
“Nightcrawler,” which cost $8.5 million to make, met expectations.
“The movie is dark and complex and we thought it was a great opportunity to release it on Halloween,” said Jason Cassidy, chief marketing officer of distributor Open Road Films. “We think it really paid off.”
The film follows Lou Bloom (Gyllenhaal), a self-taught man who finds work as a crime-scene news videographer in Los Angeles. It marks the directing debut of Dan Gilroy, who also wrote the screenplay.
Since the film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September, critics have lauded Gyllenhaal’s performance as well as the film’s look at nightlife in L.A.
The film attracted largely older, male crowds: An estimated 66 percent of moviegoers were older than 25. Men made up 56 percent of the audience.
The film did well in L.A., San Francisco and New York. Gyllenhaal surprised audiences with appearances at special early screenings in Boston, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., the previous weekend to promote the film.
“His star power really helped drive the picture,” Cassidy said.
“Ouija,” Universal Pictures’ PG-13 film, cost just $5 million to make and did better than expected in its sophomore weekend.
The film, which opened to $20 million last weekend, follows a group of friends who look to the board after one friend is killed in an accident.
Blumhouse Productions and Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes produced the film, which is based on the Hasbro game. Its cumulative domestic gross is about $35 million to date.
“Usually horror films don’t hold as well but I think — believe it or not, it never happens — we got a little help from Halloween,” said Nikki Rocco, Universal’s head of distribution. “I was amazed.”