Ben Affleck's “The Accountant” debuts atop box officeOctober 17, 2016 - 13:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - "The Accountant" easily tops the North American box office in its debut weekend with an estimated $24.7 million. The Warner Bros. action thriller has got negative reviews with just 51% of critics liking it on RottenTomatoes.com, but it has received an A grade at CinemaScore, AceShowbiz reveals. "The marketing for this movie showed it to be a smart action movie with Ben Affleck. That combination worked for audiences this weekend," says senior media analyst for comScore Paul Dergarabedian. "And it's the audience paying the bills." Also making its debut in U.S. theaters this weekend is Universal's "Kevin Hart: What Now?". Receiving a 78% positive critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- from audiences at CinemaScore, Kevin Hart's live stand-up comedy movie is coming in second with approximately $12 million. "It doesn't matter what the rank, Kevin Hart is a profit machine," Dergarabedian says. "Hart is the rare movie star working today that can open a scripted comedy and fill a theater with stand-up comedy." The two strong newcomers overthrow last week's champion and runner-up, "The Girl on the Train (2016)" and "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" respectively. Emily Blunt's psychological thriller drops to the third spot with another $12 million, while Eva Green's fantasy movie falls to the fourth place with an estimated $9 million. Rounding out the top five is "Deepwater Horizon". The oil-rig thriller starring Mark Wahlberg and Kate Hudson is estimated to collect $6.4 million in its third week at the domestic box office. Top stories Ara Aivazian said Azerbaijan continues the traditions of Turkey after seizing territories and forced Armenians out. The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. Partner news | Aliyev: No peace treaty unless Armenia changes constitution Azerbaijan will not sign a peace treaty with Armenia unless the latter changes its constitution, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said. Seven injured in massive gas station explosion in Armenia The Investigative Committee of Armenia has unveiled details about a massive explosion at a gas station on the Yerevan-Sevan highway. Pashinyan’s spokesperson denies intention to visit Baku for COP29 Pashinyan’s agenda doesn’t include a trip to Baku for the COP29 conference, his press secretary Nazeli Baghdasaryan has said. Russia accuses West of preparing invasion of CSTO countries NATO is preparing an invasion of the CSTO countries, the number of provocations in the air is growing, Sergei Shoigu has said. |