‘Nightcrawler’ cast actors Rene Russo, left, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

LOS ANGELES: Creepy thriller “Nightcrawler” edged out horror movie “Ouija” in the Halloween weekend box office battle in North America, estimated figures showed Sunday.

“Nightcrawler,” which stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a sleazy videojournalist who patrols Los Angeles at night hunting for gory footage to sell to a local television network, opened with $10.9 million.

Just a fraction behind in second spot was horror movie “Ouija,” estimates from box office tracker Exhibitor Relations showed.

Third place was taken by Brad Pitt World War II tank drama “Fury,” with $9.1 million, ahead of David Fincher thriller “Gone Girl” starring Ben Affleck, which added another $8.8 million to its five-week haul.

Animated comedy “The Book of Life,” featuring the voices of Zoe Saldana and Channing Tatum, was in fifth place at $8.3 million.

“John Wick,” starring Keanu Reeves as an ex-hitman who returns from retirement to take revenge on gangsters who attacked him, raked in just under $8.1 million in ticket sales to take sixth place.

“St. Vincent,” a comedy starring Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts, held onto seventh place. The film, about a young boy who befriends the crusty war veteran living next door, earned $7.8 million.

Elsewhere this weekend, Nicole Kidman suffered her worst ever large scale opening in the the thriller “Before I Go to Sleep,” which took just over $2 million after a wide release across 1,935 theaters.

 
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