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‘Gone Girl’ beats ‘Annabelle’ at weekend box office

Ben Affleck stars in 'Gone Girl.'.

LOS ANGELES – Annabelle couldn’t scare off Gone Girl at the weekend box office.

The thriller starring Ben Affleck as a man whose wife goes missing overcame the possessed-doll horror movie with a $38 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Both films join the recently released The Maze Runner and The Equalizer in crossing the $30 million mark this fall, a typically low-earning season at the box office.

Gone Girl is based on the bestselling novel by Gillian Flynn and was directed by The Social Network and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button filmmaker David Fincher. The film earned an additional $24.6 million internationally.

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Annabelle debuted closely behind Gone Girl with $37.2 million. The movie stars Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis as new parents who bring the creepy porcelain plaything seen in last year’s haunted house horror The Conjuring into their home.

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The Equalizer, last week’s top performer, came in third place in its second weekend with $19 million, bringing its total domestic haul to $64.5 million. The revenge thriller starring Denzel Washington reteams him with director Antoine Fuqua, who helmed 2001’s Training Day, the film that earned Washington an Oscar for best actor.

The Boxtrolls was No. 4 with $12.4 million, followed closely by The Maze Runner at $12 million.

Left Behind, the weekend’s other big debut, opened in sixth place with $6.8 million. The Rapture-set film starring Nicholas Cage is based on the novel of the same name.

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