text: Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Nice pocket protector. Here's what Anna Kendrick and Ben Affleck learned from playing gawky accountants who have trouble communicating in 'The Accountant.' USA TODAY 
   
   Ben Affleck in 'The Accountant.' (Photo: Chuck Zlotnick) 
   
   The Accountant proves one thing about Ben Affleck: He's a hot asset in Hollywood. 
   
   Affleck star-powered his action role as a genius bookkeeper with a particular set of killing skills to $24.7 million and No. 1 at the weekend box office, according to studio estimates. 
   
   Director Gavin O'Connor's moderately budgeted film ($44 million) didn't have gaudy opening numbers, but it was a clear win. 
   
   "The marketing for this movie showed it to be a smart action movie with Ben Affleck," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. "That combination worked for audiences this weekend." 
   
   The Accountant did take some deductions for negative reviews; just 51% of critics liked it on review aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com. But audiences gave it an A grade at CinemaScore. "And it's the audience paying the bills," Dergarabedian says. 
   
   Ben Affleck in 'The Accountant' (Photo: Chuck Zlotnick) 
   
   Kevin Hart's live comedy concert film Kevin Hart: What Now? made $11.98 million for the weekend and finished second. 
   
   "It doesn't matter what the rank, Kevin Hart is a profit machine," Dergarabedian says. "Hart is the rare movie star working today that can open a scripted comedy and fill a theater with stand-up comedy." 
   
   The opening weekend beat 2013 predecessor Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, which opened with $10 million and went on to make $32 million. 
   
   What Now? has already covered its sparse production budget of $10 million. It received a 78% positive critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an A-minus from audiences at CinemaScore. 
   
   Thriller The Girl on the Train, starring Emily Blunt in the title role, took third with $11.97 million ($46.6 million total in two weeks). Tim Burton's Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children landed in fourth with $8.9 million in its third weekend ($65.8 million total). 
   
   The wheels of 'The Girl on the Train' are set into motion when Rachel witnesses a shocking act on her daily commute. (Photo: Universal Pictures) 
   
   Mark Wahlberg's disaster drama Deepwater Horizon rounded out the top five with $6.4 million ($49.3 million in three weeks). 
   
   Max Steel, the weekend's other major release, disappeared with $2.2 million. The toy-based sci-fi adventure, featuring a teen named Max and his alien companion Steel, couldn't crack the top 10, landing at No. 11. 
   
   "Minimum effort, maximum misfire," says Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "They didn’t even try to promote this film — I'm surprised they even released it." 
   
   Without early screenings for critics, Max Steel had a 0% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes (based on eight reviews) and received a B from audiences at CinemaScore. 
   
   The Birth of a Nation dropped a startling 61% in its second weekend, landing in 10th place with $2.7 million (for $12.2 million total). 
   
   Bock says the lackluster performance will hurt the chances of the Oscar hopeful, written/directed by and starring Nate Parker. 
   
   "That's a horror-show box office drop," Bock says. "This movie isn't going anywhere." 
   
   Final numbers are expected Monday. 
   
   Nat Turner (Nate Parker, center) leads a slave revolt in 'The Birth of a Nation.' (Photo: Jahi Chikwendiu) 
   
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target: – Ben Affleck is still a box office draw outside of the bat suit. His new thriller The Accountant opened to a chart-topping $24.7 million this weekend, reports the AP, according to studio estimates Sunday. Gavin O'Connor directed the R-rated thriller, starring Affleck as an autistic mathematician. Audiences were 58% male and gave the film an "A'' CinemaScore. "The marketing for this movie showed it to be a smart action movie with Ben Affleck," a comScore analyst tells USA Today. "That combination worked for audiences this weekend." The comedy concert film Kevin Hart: What Now? debuted in second place with $11.98 million, marking a minuscule edge over last week's champ The Girl on the Train, which netted $11.975 million. The films could easily switch places when final numbers come in on Monday. Holdovers Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children and Deepwater Horizon rounded out the top five. The weekend's other new opener, the Mattel-inspired Max Steel, bombed with only $2.2 million.