Movie

The drama thriller beat out 'The Visit', launching to $25.9 million at this weekend's box office.

• Sep 14, 2015

AceShowbiz - Screen Gems' thriller "The Perfect Guy" topped this weekend's box office with $25.9 million from 2,221 theaters. Starring African-American actors, the movie narrowly beat M. Night Shyamalan's "The Visit", which opened to $25.4 million from 3,068 theaters. Both films were initially predicted to debut between $15 million and $17 million.

"The Perfect Guy", which received an A- CinemaScore, had earned two times more than its $12 million budget in a single weekend. "It's ideal timing, because there's not a lot of competition in the marketplace and you can really stand out with a slightly lower [ad] spend," said Josh Greenstein, president of worldwide marketing and distribution at Sony.

"The Visit" marked the highest-grossing horror opening of 2015 while only carrying a budget of $5 million. "It looks like it is the No. 1 horror film opening of the year," said Universal domestic distribution president Nic Carpou. "With what Jason [Blum] brings to a brand that Night is known for, you can go to this film expecting to be entertained."

Faith-based family drama "War Room" was in the third place, earning another $7.8 million this weekend. The movie has grossed $39.2 million domestically. Coming right after "War Room" was the adaptation of Bill Bryson's book "A Walk in the Woods", which earned $4.7 million for a domestic total of just below $20 million. Rounding out the top five was "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" which brought in $4.1 million in its seventh weekend.

1. "The Perfect Guy" - $25.9 million
2. "The Visit" - $25.4 million
3. "War Room" - $7.8 million
4. "A Walk in the Woods" - $4.7 million
5. "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation" - $4.1 million
6. "Straight Outta Compton" - $3.9 million
7. "No Escape" - $2.9 million
8. "The Transporter Refueled" - $2.8 million
9. "90 Minutes in Heaven" - $2 million
10. "Un Gallo con Muchos Huevos" - $2 million