Box office

YOUR FIRST AUTUMN WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Denzel Washington can still open a movie. The Equalizer, based on the ’80s TV series of the same name, reunites the star with Antoine Fuqua, who directed Washington in the 2001 cult classic Training Day. The Equalizer debuted with $35 million, doubling the gross of The Maze Runner in its second week, which edged the weekend’s other major debut, the animated feature The Boxtrolls, for #2. The latter film was made by Laika, an animation studio owned by Nike Chairman Phil Knight. The ensemble family comedy This Is Where I Leave You had a less than average drop-off in week two.

The biggie opening this weekend is David Fincher’s adaptation of Jillian Flynn’s immensely popular novel Gone Girl, starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, which is getting a terrific early critical reception. (9/29a)