‘The Accountant’ cooks the books at domestic box office, ‘Max Steel’ D.O.A.

Weekend Box Office Oct. 14–16, 2016

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) -Ben Affleck’s “The Accountant” surpassed all expectations by bringing in $24.7 million this weekend. The thriller, which also stars Anna Kendrick and J.K. Simmons, was predicted to make anywhere between $15 and $20 million. Despite mixed and negative reviews from critics, audiences embraced the story of a man with autism who has a knack for numbers and guns. I’m not surprised; while I did have issues with Affleck’s performance, I enjoyed the film as a mindless-action distraction.

In second place, coming in lower than predicted, is “Kevin Hart: What Now?” with $11.98 million. Website Box Office Mojo had predicted a $15.2 million opening. The concert film wasn’t screened locally for critics, probably a fiscally wise move, considering the movie would only appeal to those who enjoy Hart’s brand of stand-up comedy, but audiences gave the film an A- according to CinemaScore. So far, the film has essentially earned back its production costs. The film’s profit margin at this point will depend upon how much Universal spent on advertising. To give some perspective, the highest-grossing stand-up comedy film is 1987’s “Eddie Murphy Raw” with $50.5 million. Hart’s previous stand-up film, “Laugh at My Pain,” earned $7.7 million over the course of its 14-week run in 2011.

Last week’s champ, the ill-received thriller “The Girl on the Train,” managed $11.9 million. That was good enough for third place. That’s a 51-percent drop. Its domestic total sits at $6 million. After 10 days, “Gone Girl” had earned $77 million. “The Girl on the Train” will wind up making a profit, but it won’t be the breakthrough hit Universal had hoped for.

“Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” dropped only 41 percent in its third weekend for a gross of $8 million. Tim Burton’s adaptation of Ransom Riggs’ novel has earned $65.8 million stateside; overseas the film has already surpassed $100 million.

Rounding out the top five is “Deepwater Horizon” with $6 million for a domestic total just short of $50 million.

“Max Steel” debuted to $2.16 million. Seeing as it opened in 2,034 theaters, that’s something of an accomplishment, just not the sort of distinction that any film would want to be associated with. I wasn’t shown “Max Steel” and its budget isn’t listed anywhere that I can find, so any guess at the film’s cost would be a complete shot in the dark. Still, I think we can assume that even a micro-budget superhero film costs more than $5 million, a very modest total that the film will struggle to reach.