'Gone Girl' Stakes 'Dracula Untold' at Box Office - Wall Street Journal

Oct. 12, 2014 2:46 p.m. ET

Despite competition from four new movies in nationwide release, “Gone Girl” stayed put at the top of the box office chart.

The adaptation of the best-selling novel was No. 1 for the second weekend in a row, grossing an estimated $26.8 million. That is down only 29% from last weekend, an unusually small drop that indicates very strong word-of-mouth. Already, the thriller starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike has grossed $78.3 million in the U.S. and Canada.

The $65 million production is now on track to gross close to $150 million domestically and has already collected $63 million from 52 foreign markets, meaning it should be quite profitable for distributor Twentieth Century Fox and its financing partner New Regency Productions.

Fox parent company 21st Century Fox FOX -2.67% 21st Century Fox Inc. Cl B U.S.: Nasdaq ^$31.34 -0.86 -2.67% Oct. 10, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 4.18M AFTER HOURS ^$32.01 +0.67 +2.15% Oct. 10, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 18,200 P/E Ratio 15.75 Market Cap $69.91 Billion Dividend Yield 0.80% Rev. per Employee $1,180,260 10/12/14 ‘Gone Girl’ Stakes ‘Dracula Un... 10/10/14 21st Century Fox, Apollo Final... 10/07/14 Eyeing NFL Value, 21st Century... More quote details and news » was until last year part of the same company as The Wall Street Journal.

Of the quartet of new releases, none was a breakout hit.

The origin story “Dracula Untold” performed best, starting off with $23.5 million. That is a decent but not great performance given that the movie cost $70 million, a budget that was scaled back from an originally more ambitious $120 million, according to a person close to the production.

Internationally, “Dracula” has grossed a healthier $62.6 million from 42 markets. It was financed by distributor Universal Pictures, owned by Comcast CMCSA -1.31% Comcast Corp. Cl A U.S.: Nasdaq ^$52.62 -0.70 -1.31% Oct. 10, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 27.29M AFTER HOURS ^$52.50 -0.12 -0.23% Oct. 10, 2014 6:20 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 292,331 P/E Ratio 18.27 Market Cap $135.63 Billion Dividend Yield 1.71% Rev. per Employee $495,066 10/12/14 ‘Gone Girl’ Stakes ‘Dracula Un... 10/10/14 Blackstone Group to Spin Off F... 10/10/14 Comcast May Appeal Ruling in H... More quote details and news » Corp, along with Legendary Pictures LLC.

“Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” from Walt Disney Co. DIS +0.65% Walt Disney Co. U.S.: NYSE ^$86.27 +0.56 +0.65% Oct. 10, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 12.63M AFTER HOURS ^$86.08 -0.19 -0.22% Oct. 10, 2014 7:49 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 45,061 P/E Ratio 20.44 Market Cap $148.09 Billion Dividend Yield 1.00% Rev. per Employee $273,869 10/12/14 ‘Gone Girl’ Stakes ‘Dracula Un... 10/10/14 Nielsen Says Glitch Affected S... 10/09/14 Pay TV’s New Worry: ‘Shaving’ ... More quote details and news » made its debut to $19.1 million—also an OK opening given its budget of only $28 million. Disney is hoping that with no new family movies opening soon, the adaptation of the popular children’s book will play well for several weeks.

The Robert Downey Jr. drama “The Judge” opened to $13.3 million—a soft start since Time Warner Inc. TWX -0.35% Time Warner Inc. U.S.: NYSE ^$71.82 -0.25 -0.35% Oct. 10, 2014 4:00 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 4.07M AFTER HOURS ^$71.82 0.00 % Oct. 10, 2014 4:34 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 20,236 P/E Ratio 14.96 Market Cap $61.39 Billion Dividend Yield 1.77% Rev. per Employee $875,118 10/12/14 ‘Gone Girl’ Stakes ‘Dracula Un... 10/10/14 21st Century Fox, Apollo Final... 10/09/14 Pay TV’s New Worry: ‘Shaving’ ... More quote details and news » ’s Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures spent about $50 million to make it. Many adult dramas have struggled at the box office this year, with the notable exception of “Gone Girl.”

The sex thriller “Addicted,” from Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. LGF -2.78% Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. U.S.: NYSE ^$30.11 -0.86 -2.78% Oct. 10, 2014 4:02 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 874,007 AFTER HOURS ^$29.96 -0.15 -0.50% Oct. 10, 2014 4:57 pm Volume (Delayed 15m) : 1,424 P/E Ratio 23.10 Market Cap $4.11 Billion Dividend Yield 0.93% Rev. per Employee $3,751,730 10/12/14 ‘Gone Girl’ Stakes ‘Dracula Un... 09/29/14 Lions Gate Shares Rise on Drea... 09/14/14 Coming Soon to Theaters Near Y... More quote details and news » ’s African-American-targeted Codeblack label, earned $7.6 million despite playing in about 25% as many theaters as the other new films. A studio spokesman said the movie will earn a “solid profit” given its very low budget.

The latter two movies were both bested by the Warner Bros. horror movie “Annabelle,” which on its second weekend grossed $16.4 million. Its 56% decline was bigger than for its predecessor movie “The Conjuring” last year, but is still better than most horror movies. The low-budget picture has collected a healthy $62.2 million domestically.