LOS ANGELES. — Underlining Ben Affleck’s star power, “The Accountant” dominated movie going with a solid $24,7 million opening weekend at 3 222 North American sites.Sunday’s estimate came in significantly above expectations, which had ranged from $18 million to $20 million at the start of the weekend.Comedy concert film “Kevin Hart: What Now?” delivered about half of “The Accountant” total with $12 million at 2 568 locations. But the debut of sci-fi adventure “Max Steel” was ignored by movie goers with $2,1 million at 2 034 screens for a dismal $1,049 per-screen average.
Warner Brothers “The Accountant” took in $200 000 more than last weekend’s winner, “The Girl on the Train,” which opened with $24,5 million.The Emily Blunt thriller finished in a tie for second with “Kevin Hart: What Now?”
“The Accountant” carries a moderate $40 million price tag with Affleck portraying an autistic math savant and weapons expert who cooks the books for criminal organisations.
Gavin O’Connor directs from a script by Bill Dubuque. Anna Kendrick, JK Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor and John Lithgow also star.Prospects for holdover business are decent with an A CinemaScore, particularly with 86 percent of customers over 25. — Reuters.



