After having slumped over the summer, the box office continues to soar, and this weekend Denzel Washington's "The Equalizer" performed above expectations.

The Sony/Columbia release debuted with an estimated $35 million in 10,816 theaters. The debut marks Washington's third-highest opening weekend behind "American Gangster" and "Safe House." The opening also became the fourth-highest opening of September, and with these numbers, Sony hopes that it can make as series of the film especially since it already has a sequel planned. While reviews were mixed, Washington once again proved that he is still a huge selling point and one of the most bankable actors in Hollywood.   

In second place, "The Maze Runner" fell 46 percent and made $17.5 million. The Fox release has made $58 million up to this point and is likely to end its run close the $90 million mark if it continues to play solidly.

In third place, "The Boxtrolls" debuted to better-than-expected numbers. The feature made an estimated $17.2 million. The debut was better than Laika Animations' previous films "Coraline" and "Paranorman." While reviews were not as good as these previous efforts, "The Boxtrolls" came out in a time when there were no family-friendly films. The last animated film to come out was almost two months ago, and the next family-friendly film will come out in three weeks. The film could also been helped by Focus Features' huge marketing campaign and the early premiere at the Venice Film Festival.  

In fourth place, "This is Where I Leave You" scored a solid $7 million. After a disappointing debut the feature has now made $22 million, and with no notable comedies being released in the next weeks, the Shawn Levy feature now looks to reach the $40 million.

"Dolphin Tale 2" held better than expected and made another $4.8 million. The film continues to trail its predecessor and has only made $33 million.

The Idris Elba and Taraji Henson feature "No Good Deed" also continued to play to solid results. Having made an estimated $4.5 million over the weekend, the feature has now grossed $46 million and will likely end its run with $55 million.

In its second weekend, "A Walk Among the Tombstones" fells to seventh place and made an estimated 4 million, falling 60 percent. The Liam Neeson starrer made an estimated $4.2 million and has now only made $20 million. The film's steep fall was due to competition from Washington's "The Equalizer" and will likely end its run with $30 million.

Meanwhile, "Guardians of the Galaxy" made another $3.7 million and brought its total to $319 million. The film has now surpassed the first "Iron Man" film and is the third highest-grossing Marvel film ever. Expect the fantasy film to end its run with $330 million.

In art house cinemas, the Pantelion's latest "Mas Negro que la Noche" made an estimated $550,000. The film opened in 178 theaters, and it marks yet another disappointing turn for the distributing company. However, Lionsgate and Pantelion will expand the feature in the coming weeks.

CBS Films opened "Pride" to rave reviews and scored a formidable $83,800 in six theaters. That is equivalent to $14,133 per theater average. The film is expanding in the next few weeks and hoping the awards buzz will drive moviegoers to see it.

Relativity expanded the Simon Pegg starrer "Hector and the Search for Happiness" into 94 theaters and made an estimated $200,000. The feature obtained bad reviews, and with this disastrous result, it is unlikely the studio will continue the expansion.