Ouija tops North American box office with $20 million

Ouija has topped the North American box office in the run-up to Halloween.

The horror film about young people who use an Ouija board to contact the spirit world.

The low-budget Ouija, starring Olivia Cooke, made $20 million between Friday and Sunday, according to studio estimates.

That put it ahead of John Wick, Keanu Reeves’ latest thriller, which made $14.2 million over the same period.

Last week’s top film, Brad Pitt’s World War II tank drama Fury, fell to three.

Made for just $5 million, Ouija‘s success is testament to US moviegoers’ appetite for modestly-budgeted supernatural fare without big-name stars.

Blumhouse Productions, the company behind the film, has enjoyed similar success with the Insidious, Purge and Paranormal Activity series.

Meanwhile, John Wick, in which Keanu Reeves plays a retired assassin out for revenge, exceeded industry expectations with its second place opening.

This week’s top five was rounded out by David Fincher’s Gone Girl and animated title The Book of Life.

Next week’s chart is likely to be dominated by Interstellar, the latest sci-fi epic from British director Christopher Nolan.