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Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt's 'Fury' rolls to a box office win

Bryan Alexander
USA TODAY
"Fury," starring Brad Pitt, was No. 1 at the box office this weekend.

The Brad Pitt-led World War II tank drama Fury rolled over the competition at the weekend box office. With an estimated $23.5 million, it easily took the top spot from Gone Girl ($17.8 million), which has ruled for the past two weekends.

Fury, directed by David Ayer, features an ensemble cast including Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña and Scott Eastwood.

But it was all about Pitt during the film's promotion, which even included a breakdancing session with Jimmy Fallon.

"Studios use star power as the No. 1 marketing tool, and Brad Pitt has that," says Phil Contrino, box office analyst for BoxOffice.com. "But it's not star power alone which gets people to the theaters. Brad Pitt picks smart pictures that people want to see."

Crowds and critics alike were impressed by the film, which received an 80% critical rating on RottenTomatoes.com and an A-minus audience grade on CinemaScore.

Also soaring in a limited release was Alejandro Inarritu's Birdman, which opened in four theaters and earned $415,000 (averaging $103,750 per theater). It's the second-highest per-theater opening average of the year, behind Grand Budapest Hotel.

The film stars former Batman Michael Keaton as a washed-up superhero actor making a comeback and has been widely touted as an awards contender. The opening excitement bodes well for the film.

"Where Birdman played, the theaters were incredibly full, packed houses," says Paul Dergarabedian, analyst for the box office tracking firm Rentrak. "This will turn (into) big awards buzz. This opening will raise its profile with the great reviews it's getting."

The Book of Life, the bold 3-D animated directorial debut of Jorge Gutierrez, came in third with $17 million. The movie features the voices of Diego Luna, Channing Tatum and Zoe Saldana and was produced by Guillermo Del Torro.

Despite just losing second place to Gone Girl, the film should show continued life.

"This movie could play for the long haul," says Dergarabedian. "It's visually stunning, a prestige project and the audiences that see it, love it. It will continue to find an audience."

The Best of Me opened in fifth with a disappointing $10.2 million. The Nicholas Sparks adaptation was released in October as counterprogramming to serve female audiences. Sparks had held out hope that audiences would find the traditional horror movie season romantic.

"If October wasn't romantic, there would be no babies born in the summer," Sparks said last week. "Romance can blossom any time."

Universal's Dracula origin story Dracula Untold, which fought for the top spot last weekend, dropped to sixth with $9.9 million. Its total worldwide box office is an impressive $136.4 million.

Disney's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day stayed in the top five in its second weekend with $12 million ($37 million total), good for fourth place. Robert Downey Jr.'s The Judge fell to seventh with $7.9 million ($26.8 million total).

Final figures are expected Monday.

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