"Nightcrawler" and "Ouija" tied at the North American box office over the Halloween weekend.

"Nightcrawler" opened to $10.9 million in 2,766 theaters. Despite the weak opening, the Open Road picture was only budgeted at $8 million. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, the thriller premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, where it scored rave reviews and Oscar buzz. If buzz continues strong, "Nightcrawler" will likely hold well over the next several weeks.

"Ouija" also made $10.9 million in its second weekend. The drop was only 45 percent from its opening, and it is a formidable hold for a horror film as they are generally front-loaded and second weekends are always weak. To date, the Hasbro-inspired picture has made $34 million and is likely to end its run close to the $50 million mark.

In third place, "Fury" held better than its second weekend and made $9 million. The Brad Pitt starrer has only made $60 million, which is a bit of a disappointment given its $68 million budget. The feature is playing well to adult audiences and to awards enthusiasts. If it continues a solid hold, "Fury" could still be on route to making $85 million.

"Gone Girl" also continued to play strongly to adult audiences. The film made $8.8 million and has already grossed $136 million. The feature is now director David Fincher's highest grossing film and will likely continue play strongly over the next weeks especially with awards buzz. "Gone Girl" can still end its run in the $160 million to $175 million range.

In fifth place, "The Book of Life" fell 17 percent and made another $8 million. The animated feature continues to perform solidly, if not outstanding. The feature has made $40 million to date, but with "Big Hero 6" coming out next weekend, "The Book of Life" will suffer great losses.

The Keanu Reeves' thriller "John Wick" also held on well in its second weekend and made $8 million. Having already grossed $27 million, it is likely this feature will end its run close to $40 million.

The Weinstein Company's "St. Vincent" continued to be the break out hit of the season. The feature made another $7 million, which is on par with last weekend and has already made $19 million. The Weinstein Company has not had a hit like this since last year, and awards buzz could boost "St. Vincent's" box office.

Another indie hit, "Birdman", continued to play solidly in limited release. In 231 theaters, the dramedy made $2.5 million and has made $5 million in its three weeks. While it is not on par with Fox Searchlight's "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Birdman" is proving to have holding power and will likely crossover to the mainstream in the next weeks. Oscar buzz will also help it maintain the healthy box office.

Clarius Entertainment, however, failed to register, and "Before I Go to Sleep" only made $2 million in 1,902 theaters. The film stars Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman, and it became the second film of the year from the two stars to flop. In the spring, both actors starred in the critical darling "The Railway Man," but given the season and the material, the film failed to register with audiences. Clarius, which is a new company, has now had three flops this year and currently has nothing else on their release slate.

Lionsgate also flopped with its re-release of "Saw." The 2004 torture flick opened in 2,063 theater, but only made $650,000. It now ranks as the third worst opening in 2,000 theaters or more

Also faring poorly was Radius TWC's "Horns." Starring Daniel Radcliffe, the thriller opened in 103 theaters and only made $104,000. However, "Horns" has been available for a month on VOD, and it has already made $1 million on VOD. Despite positive VOD numbers, Radcliffe's films continue to fail at the box office. Over the summer, "What If" failed to generate any solid numbers, and last year, "Kill Your Darlings" barely registered.

Opera lovers, however, turned up for "The Met: Live in HD's" presentation of Bizet's "Carmen." The opera, which was shown at noon on Saturday, made $2.3 million in North America. The gross was up from Oct. 19 when the Met presented Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro."

Related