FURY LACKS FIRE POWER

When it comes to World War movies, Sony-Columbia’s World War II movie Fury can’t compare with World War Z — except that they both starred Brad Pitt. The critically well-received Fury came in below analysts’ expectations with just $23.5 million, according to studio estimates. By contrast, World War Z opened last year with $66 million. And Quentin Tarantino’s take on WWII, Inglourious Basterds, which also starred Pitt, opened in 2009 with $38 million. Fury did, however, end Gone Girl‘s two-week hold on the top spot at the box office. The thriller starring Ben Affleck took in $17.8 million, down a modest 32 percent from last week, which nevertheless was more than analysts believed it would fall. It barely edged out the animated The Book of Life, which came in third with around $17 million — also somewhat below most pundits’ predictions on Friday. The Steve Carrell-Jennifer Garner family film Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day slipped 35 percent to $12 million for fourth place, while the latest Nicholas Sparks tearjerker The Best of Me proved to be the worst result for a Sparks book-to-movie. It finished fifth with $10.2 million.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Rentrak:
1. Fury, $23.5 million; 2. Gone Girl, $17.8 million; 3. The Book of Life, $17 million; 4. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, $12 million; 5. The Best of Me, $10.2 million); 6. Dracula Untold, $9.9 million; 7. The Judge, $7.94 million; 8. Annabelle, $7.92 million; 9. The Equalizer, $5.4 million); 10. The Maze Runner, ($4.5 million).