Box-Office Breakdown: Affleck and Hart Prove their Star Power

Can Ben Affleck's name alone sell movie tickets again?

That was the biggest question heading into this weekend, and the answer is a pretty convincing yes.  Affleck has had several of the biggest hits of his career, both critical and commercial, since his re-emergence as a creative force with Gone Baby Gone, but most of those hits were sold as ensembles (The Town, Gone Girl), or on premise (Batman V Superman).  With The Accountant, Affleck's face and name were front and center and it won the weekend with nearly double its nearest competitor – despite an incredibly milquetoast title and a premise that feels like The Bourne Affleck.  

Although Batman V Superman received a fairly severe critical lashing, Affleck's gritty portrayal of the Caped Crusader often received positive marks.  Regardless of how good or bad that superhero romp was, that good will, and the increased awareness that comes with such an enormously high grossing film, has brightened Affleck's star enough to open a modestly budgeted adult action-drama.  Time will tell if that power holds with heavy competition from Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (Couldn't they have picked a title that sounded less like a Justin Bieber concert movie?).

The other big story this weekend is Kevin Hart's continued over-performance at the box office with his concert film, Kevin Hart: What Now? at $11.9 million.  Can we all please just admit that Hart is a bonafide phenomenon?  For one, Hart is now officially the comedy concert film king.  Of the top ten highest grossing comedy concert films, Kevin Hart takes up three spots, this film included.  The others are held by Richard Pryor, Martin Lawrence, Eddie Murphy, The Original Kings of Comedy, and...wait for it...Bette Midler.  Hart's cumulative gross with these films beats that of everyone else on the list.  And yet, every time a film of his opens, pundits and critics act surprised at how well it does.  Hart has a loyal audience, and they don't seem to be going anywhere.

Check out the full estimated box office top ten for this weekend*:

1. The Accountant - $24.7 million
2. Kevin Hart: What Now? - $11.98 million
3. Girl on a Train - $11.97 million
4. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - $8.9 million
5. Deepwater Horizon - $6.35 million
6. Storks - $5.6 milion
7. The Magnificent Seven - $5.2 million
8. Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life - $4.2 million
9. Sully - $3 milion
10. The Birth of a Nation - $2.7 million

Wide Releases Next Weekend: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, Keeping Up With the Joneses, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween, and 31.

*Stats courtesy of boxofficemojo.com.