'Ouija' Summons $20 Million, Topping 'Fury' With Help Of Female Moviegoers, Halloween

With a $5 million budget, "Ouija," the horror film about two girls who reconnect via their childhood love of playing with the occult board game, made a hefty $20 million at the box office this weekend. Of its opening weekend crowd, 75 percent was under 25 and 61 percent was female. "Marketing knew exactly what audience they were going after and they nailed it,” Nikki Rocco, Universal’s distribution chief, told Variety.

Directed by Stiles White and produced by Michael Bay and "Paranormal Activity" producer Jason Blum, the film is the seventh of Blum's micro-budget horror films to make it to first place, Variety reports. Since 2000, Blum's films have grossed more than $1 billion worldwide on budgets of $5 million and under, according to IMDB.

In second place in its second weekend in theaters, "Fury," Brad Pitt's WWII drama, hauled in $13 million, bringing its total domestic gross to $46 million.

“John Wick,” starring Keanu Reeves as a hit man avenging the murder of his puppy, brought in $14.1 million across 2,589 screens, earning double what analysts were predicting and landing the film in third place. Variety offered that perhaps Reeves' complaint in an IndieWire interview about not getting offered many roles helped to drum up social media attention that may have contributed to the film's buzz and weekend success. In other words, never underestimate the power of "Sad Keanu."

In fourth place, David Fincher's “Gone Girl” added another $11.1 million to its $124 million domestic gross.

“St. Vincent,” a comedy from Weinstein Co. and Chernin Entertainment production about a grump played by Bill Murray who befriends a neighborhood boy (shades of "Rushmore"?), brought in $8.1 million after expanding to 2,282 theaters from 68.

The Edward Snowden documentary “Citizenfour” opened in only five theaters, but earned a healthy $125,172 its opening weekend. It will expand to 14 theaters next week.

Meanwhile, Jason Reitman’s “Men, Women & Children,” about the alienating effect of digital life, continues to alienate potential audiences, and falters another week at the box office. The Paramount Pictures film made $60,000 across 542 locations, earning a mere $664,000.