After a so-so September at the box office, October’s movie releases are expected to start strong and get stronger. The main event this week is film based on a best-selling novel directed by the man who made “The Social Network” and the U.S. version of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”

Director David Fincher’s film, “Gone Girl,” is based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, who also wrote the screenplay. Original music by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross and stars like Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike and Tyler Perry should sweeten the deal even more. The film is being distributed by Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. (NASDAQ: FOXA) and is forecast to post gross receipts of $40 million in its opening weekend. The movie is opening on 3,014 screens.

The other film opening in wide release this week is the horror flick “Annabelle” from Time Warner Inc.’s (NYSE: TWX) Warner Bros. studio. The film is a prequel to last year’s hit “The Conjuring” and is forecast by Box Office Mojo to bring in $29 million this weekend from 3,185 screens.

Last week’s box office leader, “The Equalizer” starring Denzel Washington, is expected to bring in another $17.1 million this week (down 50% from last week’s opening gross). The film from Sony Corp.’s (NYSE: SNE) Columbia has pulled in gross receipts of $43.3 million since last weekend’s opening at $34.1 million. Worldwide receipts total $61.1 million so far.

Another film with wide-release last weekend was “The Boxtrolls” from Comcast Corp.’s (NASDAQ: CMCSA) NBCUniversal and Focus Features. The stop-motion animated feature hauled in $17.25 million, higher than the $14 million estimate, and is expected to pull in another $11.4 million this weekend.

“The Maze Runner,” also from Fox, is expected to add another $9.1 million to its two-week U.S. total of $61 million. Worldwide the film has earned $162 million to date. The production budget for the film was $34 million.

A third new release this weekend, “Left Behind” from independent Freestyle Releasing, is a remake of a 2008 film of the same name, this time starring Nicholas Cage. The film is opening on 1,820 screens and is expected to earn about $4 million on its opening weekend.

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