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The movie “Fury” earns top Box Office slot at $23.5m last weekend as the Brad Pitt film opened at 3,173 theaters in North America.

The film toppled “Gone Girl” and delivered one of the best openings of all time for a World War II genre, according to Sify. The David Ayer movie is also another win for star Brad Pitt, who captured the leading role and left viewers on the edge of their seats. With $23.5m in earnings from the Box Office already, “Fury” is strong with numbers.

“Studios use star power as the No. 1 marketing tool, and Brad Pitt has that,” says Phil Contrino, box office analyst for BoxOffice.com. “But it’s not star power alone which gets people to the theaters. Brad Pitt picks smart pictures that people want to see.”

As “Fury” earns the Box Office with $23.5m, it is a career best for Ayer. As fate would have it, the year’s other high-profile WWII drama, the upcoming Unbroken, is directed by Pitt’s wife, Angelina Jolie.

Sony, QED International and LStar Capital spent $68 million to make Fury, featuring Pitt as a battle-hardened Army sergeant in command of a Sherman tank and its five-man crew as they attempt to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany. The film, earning an A- CinemaScore, also features Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Pena, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs and Scott Eastwood.

The film is arguably another win for star-driven, adult-skewing, R-rated multiplex entertainments, according to Forbes. Fury, the new World War II tank-set drama, is well liked by males, especially war veterans.

While Fury played heavily to males (60 percent), Sony distribution chief Rory Bruer noted that females, likely lured in by Pitt, made up a healthy percentage. “It’s really resonating with all audiences,” he said. Overall, 51 percent of the audience was over the age of 35.

While “Fury” earns from its Box Office at $23.5m, strong reviews, along with the successful U.S. launch, should bolster Fury’s showing overseas, where it begins rolling out next weekend.

In 2009, Pitt starred in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, which lays claim to the No. 2 opening of all time for a WWII war title ($38.1 million) after Pearl Harbor ($59.1 million). Fury ranks No. 4 behind those two titles and Saving Private Ryan ($30.6 million).

With “Fury” earning the top Box Office with $23.5m, here’s the full list of the top 10 films for the weekend of Oct. 17-19:

1. Fury, 1/3,173, Sony/QED, $23.5 million
2. Gone Girl, 3/3,249, Fox/New Regency, $17.8 million, -33%, $107.1 million
3. The Book of Life, 1/3,071, Fox/ReelFX, $17 million
4. Alexander…Very Bad Day, 2/3,088, Disney, $12 million, -34%, $36.9 million
5. The Best of Me, 1/2,936, Relativity, $10.2 million
6. Dracula Untold, 1/2,887, Universal/Legendary, $9.9 million, -58%, $40.7 million
7. The Judge, 2/3,003, Warner Bros./Village Roadshow, $7.94 million, -39%, $26.8 million
8. Annabelle, 3/2,878, Warner Bros./New Line, $7.92 million, -50%, $74.1 million
9. The Equalizer, 4/2,262, Sony/Village Roadshow, $5.5 million, -44%, $89.2 million
10. The Maze Runner, 5/2,155, Fox, $4.5 million, -40%, $90.8 million

“Fury” earned the top Box Office with its $23.5m because some critics believe it relied on Brad Pitt’s star power. It also has strong critical notices to attract crowds to a story that deals with dark subject matter, FOX News notes. Sony Pictures released the $68 million production which was backed by QED and LStar Capital.