Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Nice pocket protector. Here's what Anna Kendrick and Ben Affleck learned from playing gawky accountants who have trouble communicating in 'The Accountant.' USA TODAY 
 
 Ben Affleck in 'The Accountant.' (Photo: Chuck Zlotnick) 
 
 The Accountant proves one thing about Ben Affleck: He's a hot asset in Hollywood. 
 
 Affleck star-powered his action role as a genius bookkeeper with a particular set of killing skills to $24.7 million and No. 1 at the weekend box office, according to studio estimates. 
 
 Director Gavin O'Connor's moderately budgeted film ($44 million) didn't have gaudy opening numbers, but it was a clear win. 
 
 "The marketing for this movie showed it to be a smart action movie with Ben Affleck," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. "That combination worked for audiences this weekend." 
 
 The Accountant did take some deductions for negative reviews; just 51% of critics liked it on review aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com. But audiences gave it an A grade at CinemaScore. "And it's the audience paying the bills," Dergarabedian says. 
 
 Ben Affleck in 'The Accountant' (Photo: Chuck Zlotnick) 
 
 Kevin Hart's live comedy concert film Kevin Hart: What Now? made $11.98 million for the weekend and finished second. 
 
 "It doesn't matter what the rank, Kevin Hart is a profit machine," Dergarabedian says. "Hart is the rare movie star working today that can open a scripted comedy and fill a theater with stand-up comedy." 
 
 The opening weekend beat 2013 predecessor Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, which opened with $10 million and went on to make $32 million. 
 
 What Now? has already covered its sparse production budget of $10 million. It received a 78% positive critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A-minus from audiences at CinemaScore. 
 
 Thriller The Girl on the Train, starring Emily Blunt in the title role, took third with $11.97 million ($46.6 million total in two weeks). Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children landed in fourth with $8.9 million in its third weekend ($65.8 million total). 
 
 The wheels of 'The Girl on the Train' are set into motion when Rachel witnesses a shocking act on her daily commute. (Photo: Universal Pictures) 
 
 Mark Wahlberg's disaster drama Deepwater Horizon rounded out the top five with $6.4 million ($49.3 million in three weeks). 
 
 Max Steel, the weekend's other major release, disappeared with $2.2 million. The toy-based sci-fi adventure, featuring a teen named Max and his alien companion Steel, couldn't crack the top 10, landing at No. 11. 
 
 "Minimum effort, maximum misfire," says Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "They didn’t even try to promote this film — I'm surprised they even released it." 
 
 Without early screenings for critics, Max Steel had a 0% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes (based on eight reviews) and received a B from audiences at CinemaScore. 
 
 The Birth of a Nation dropped a startling 61% in its second weekend, landing in 10th place with $2.7 million (for $12.2 million total). 
 
 Bock says the lackluster performance will hurt the chances of the Oscar hopeful, written/directed by and starring Nate Parker. 
 
 "That's a horror-show box office drop," Bock says. "This movie isn't going anywhere." 
 
 Final numbers are expected Monday. 
 
 Nat Turner (Nate Parker, center) leads a slave revolt in 'The Birth of a Nation.' (Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu) 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2eGa8xO ||||| Overseas, 'Venom' soars to $125.2 million for a global bow of $205.2 million; revenue in North America hits a record high for the month of October thanks to the combined power of the superhero pic and 'A Star Is Born.' 
 
 Once again proving a movie can do heroic business any month of the year, Sony's comic book movie Venom devoured a massive $80 million from 4,250 theaters in its domestic opening, easily the best showing ever for an October title. 
 
 Overseas, Venom, starring Tom Hardy as the Marvel antihero, soared to $125.2 million from 58 markets for a global bow of $205.2 million, also an October best. South Korea turned in $16.3 million, followed by Russia with a stellar $13.6 million. 
 
 In a second victory, Warner Bros.' critical darling A Star Is Born likewise came in ahead of expectations, collecting $42.6 million domestically from 3,686 cinemas. Offshore, the music-infused romantic drama started off with a more modest $14 million from its first 31 territories for a worldwide launch of $56.6 million. The U.K. led with $5.3 million. 
 
 The combined power of the two very different movies drove total North American revenue to an all-time high of roughly $174 million for the month of October. And, until now, the top October opening had belonged to Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, which blasted off with $55.7 million in 2013, not adjusted for inflation. 
 
 Venom, fueled by fanboys and an ethnically diverse audience, as well as younger moviegoers, impressed in fending off withering reviews (its Rotten Tomatoes score is 31 percent, compared to 91 percent for A Star Is Born). On top of making October history, it nabbed the seventh-best launch of the year so far upon besting fellow superhero pic Ant-Man and the Wasp, which opened to $75 million this summer. 
 
 The $100 million movie is an enormous victory for Sony's film studio, led by Tom Rothman, as it tries to build a stable of superhero pics beyond the marquee Spider-Man movies. Directed by Ruben Fleischer, Venom — also part monster pic — co-stars Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze and Reid Scott. Nearly half the audience was under the age of 25, while as much as 66 percent of ticket buyers were male. Those showing up gave Venom high marks, according to PostTrak, in addition to a B+ CinemaScore. 
 
 "One of the great things here is that there isn't another superhero film [Aquaman] until Christmas," says Adrian Smith, Sony's domestic distribution chief. "The movie plays great and audiences love it." 
 
 It's no wonder why Rothman and his team are intent on trying to compete with the likes of Marvel Studios: Superhero titles now claim five of the top 10 spots on the 2018 chart, and six if including Incredibles 2. In February, Marvel and Disney's Black Panther opened to a massive $202 million domestically, a number usually reserved for summer. 
 
 Venom's strong opening overseas is especially impressive considering it hasn't yet opened in China, where giant media company Tencent recently took a major stake in the pic. 
 
 Marking Bradley Cooper's directorial debut and Lady Gaga's first lead role on the big screen, A Star Is Born boasts one of the top starts ever for a romantic drama or musical. 
 
 Costing a relatively modest $40 million to produce, A Star Is Born is the fourth adaptation of the classic tale of a tortured, hard-drinking celebrity — in this case, a rock star (Cooper) — who falls in love with a singer on the brink of fame (Gaga). Live Nation Productions is a partner on the R-rated film. 
 
 More than 85 percent of the audience was over the age of 25, while femmes made up 66 percent of ticket buyers. A large swath of the audience was between the ages of 25 and 34. 
 
 "Lady Gaga fans turned out in a big way. It was evident throughout the weekend. Clearly, she can carry a movie, and clearly, Bradley can direct and sing," says Warners distribution chief Jeff Goldstein, adding that the pic's soundtrack, released last week, is No. 1 on iTunes, while "Shallow" is the No. 1 song. 
 
 The month of October has never been viewed as a corridor for mega-openings; rather, films — and especially adult-skewing titles and awards contenders such as A Star Is Born — can enjoy a long run. In 2014, the adult-fueled thriller Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, opened to $37.5 million over the Oct. 3-5 weekend on its way to grossing $167.8 million domestically. 
 
 Among holdovers, Warners' family film Smallfoot placed third in its second outing, declining a slim 35 percent to $14.9 million for a domestic total of $42.8 million. The animated pic was followed by the Tiffany Haddish-Kevin Hart comedy Night School, which slipped 55 percent its is sophomore outing to $12.3 million for a 10-day North American cume of $46.8 million. Globally, the film has grossed $58.7 million. 
 
 Amblin and Universal's The House With a Clock In its Walls rounded out the top five with $7.3 million in its third weekend for a domestic total of $55.1 million and $87.4 million worldwide. 
 
 Other highlights of the weekend: Paul Feig and Lionsgate's sleeper hit A Simple Favor ended Sunday with a domestic total of nearly $50 million and $76.4 million globally. Lows included Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 11/9, tumbling 80 percent in its third outing for a domestic total of $6 million as it loses theaters. 
 
 A Star Is Born wasn't the only new film hoping to entice awards voters. Another round of fall festival titles opened at the specialty box office this weekend, including Fox 2000's police shooting drama The Hate U Give, starring Amandla Stenberg as a young girl who witnesses a police shooting in George Tillman Jr.'s adaptation of Angie Thomas' best-seller. 
 
 The critically acclaimed movie, which opened in 36 cinemas, earned an estimated $500,000 for a screen average of $13,885. ||||| Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot and Henry Cavill talk 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.' By Dan MacMedan, USA TODAY. 
 
 It's an epic battle for Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill in 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.' (Photo: Clay Enos, Warner Bros.) 
 
 The Dark Knight and Man of Steel delivered a box office beatdown yet again. 
 
 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is No. 1 for a second straight week with $52.4 million, according to estimates from tracking service comScore. The DC Comics film, which pits the Caped Crusader (Ben Affleck) against the Last Son of Krypton (Henry Cavill), has earned $261.5 million in just 10 days. 
 
 The superhero face-off dominated despite negative reviews (29% critical approval on aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com) and a massive drop of 68% from its first weekend, when it opened to a record-shattering $166 million. 
 
 "It is a pretty significant drop, but this was expected," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. With more than $681 million worldwide, "you have to consider it a box office winner, but on the critical front, it took a pretty hard beating. This was the poster child for that disconnect between critics and fans," who gave it a B grade on CinemaScore. 
 
 Batman v Superman is Zack Snyder's follow-up to 2013's Man of Steel. It co-stars Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, the female superhero's first live-action feature-film appearance in her 75-year history. The blockbuster carries a hefty price tag of $250 million. 
 
 In second place, Zootopia dropped just 17% in its fifth weekend to earn $20 million. The critically adored comedy has now made $275.9 million in North America and a staggering $787.6 million globally, making it Disney's biggest animated success since 2013's Frozen (which scorched the box office with nearly $1.3 billion worldwide). 
 
 Nia Vardalos' My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 held strong with $11.1 million and third place in its second weekend, which brings its total to $36.5 million. The comedy arrives more than a decade after its predecessor, which sprinted down the aisle in 2002 with $241.4 million in North America. 
 
 God's Not Dead 2 managed just $8.1 million for fourth place in 2,400 theaters. The faith-based film is a sequel to the 2014 hit. Rounding out the top five, Miracles From Heaven continued to bless the box office with $7.6 million in its third weekend, dropping only 22%. The Christian drama, starring Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah, has now earned $46.8 million. 
 
 "For that film to be doing this well is a testament to how loyal and passionate the faith-based audience is," Dergarabedian says. "Closing in on $50 million, it's a total moneymaking machine." 
 
 In limited release, Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some!!, a "spiritual sequel" to Dazed and Confused, scored a solid $323,000 in just 19 theaters ($371,000 since opening Wednesday). In four theaters, Don Cheadle's Miles Davis film, Miles Ahead, trumpeted $123,000 for a strong per-theater average of $31,000. 
 
 Final numbers are expected Monday. 
 
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– Ben Affleck is still a box office draw outside of the bat suit. His new thriller The Accountant opened to a chart-topping $24.7 million this weekend, reports the AP, according to studio estimates Sunday. Gavin O'Connor directed the R-rated thriller, starring Affleck as an autistic mathematician. Audiences were 58% male and gave the film an "A'' CinemaScore. "The marketing for this movie showed it to be a smart action movie with Ben Affleck," a comScore analyst tells USA Today. "That combination worked for audiences this weekend." The comedy concert film Kevin Hart: What Now? debuted in second place with $11.98 million, marking a minuscule edge over last week's champ The Girl on the Train, which netted $11.975 million. The films could easily switch places when final numbers come in on Monday. Holdovers Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children and Deepwater Horizon rounded out the top five. The weekend's other new opener, the Mattel-inspired Max Steel, bombed with only $2.2 million.