'The Equalizer' Claims Box Office Throne With $35 Million

Movie

The film adaptation of '80s TV series becomes Denzel Washington's third best opening and director Antoine Fuqua's first.

September 29, 2014

AceShowbiz -

"The Equalizer" debuts to an estimated $35 million on domestic box office chart. It becomes one of Denzel Washington's top bows after 2007's "American Gangster" and 2012's "Safe House", cementing his reputation as one of Hollywood's consistently bankable stars.

"We're really, really happy, but we were very bullish on the movie," says Rory Bruer, Sony's President of Worldwide Distribution. "It's a film that we all love and it just delivers in a big way. Denzel couldn't be more terrific in the role - you can't take your eyes off this guy."

Senior box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian says, "Denzel is just so charismatic, no matter how mean-spirited or heroic or flawed. He brings such a humanity to every performance. He's the very definition of a movie star." The movie is a best opening for director Antoine Fuqua.

Editors' Pick

Last week's champion "The Maze Runner" settles at number two with approximately $17.5 million, pushing newcomer "The Boxtrolls" to the third position. The animation from Focus Features takes in an estimated $17.3 million, which is more than what the studio expected. Jim Orr, president of distribution for Focus Features, says, "We think it's going to end up legging out through the fall very nicely."

At number 4 is dramedy "This Is Where I Leave You" with approximately $7 million in its second weekend. "Dolphin Tale 2" earns an estimated $4.8 million, which is good enough for number 5.