Ben Affleck's new thriller "The Accountant" opened to a chart-topping $24.7 million. The R-rated thriller was directed by Gavin O'Connor, starring Affleck as an autistic mathematician, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Lithgow. The film didn't play well with critics, but the viewers, who were 58 percent male and 68 percent over the age of 35, gave it a promising 'A' Cinema score.
"That is our key audience and the five percent gain in Friday-to-Saturday business shows that there's a lot of interest in this film," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner's domestic distribution president.
This proves something about the long and fruitful partnership between Affleck and Warner Bros. According to Fox News, even though "The Accountant", which cost a reported $40 million to produce, did not really hit the heights of "Gone Girl's" $37.5 million opening, it is in the range of some of his other R-rated fall openings with the studio. For instance, "Argo" launched to $19.5 million in 2012, and "The Town" took in $23.8 million in 2010.
The film also surpassed Warner Bros.' early predictions for "The Accountant", which had it in the $15 to $20 million range.
"We're in the Ben Affleck business, and we're proud of it. We've had a lot of movies with him, and we have a lot of movies coming up with him," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. president of domestic distribution. "Audiences just love him."
The film took in $200,000 more than last weekend's winner, "The Girl on the Train", which opened with $24.5. The Emily Blunt thriller, produced by DreamWorks, landed in a tie for second with "Kevin Hart: What Now?"
According to Variety, "The Accountant" opened quietly in ten international markets with $2.8 million from 1,190 screens, led by $755,000 at 109 sites in Taiwan. It will open next weekend in Brazil, Germany, and Spain.
Meanwhile, Affleck's mob drama "Live By Night", which he wrote, directed and stars in, opens on Christmas, and he'll return as Batman in "Justice League" on Nov. 17, 2017.
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