LOS ANGELES: “Gone Girl,” the David Fincher-directed thriller based on the best-selling novel by Gillian Flynn, opened as the No. 1 weekend film in US and Canadian cinemas drawing a mostly female audience.

Starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, the feature from 21st Century Fox Inc. collected $38 million in its debut, Rentrak Corp. said Sunday in an e-mailed statement. The horror film “Annabelle” opened in second place, with $37.2 million for Time Warner’s Warner Bros. and New Line. Audiences for both skewed female, at 60 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

After a summer of comic-book superhero tales, “Gone Girl” brings to the screen a picture with tension, murder, mystery and a dedicated fan base. Several films based on bestsellers have scored successful debuts this year, including “Divergent” from Lions Gate Entertainment and “The Fault in Our Stars” from Fox.

“The stereotype is that women drive the typical young- adult films or romantic comedies or action-epics with female protagonists, like the Hunger Games,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak, in a phone interview Sunday. “This weekend shows that a sophisticated drama or horror movie can also draw them. That’s very important for Hollywood to take note of.”

Fincher’s version of “Gone Girl” tells the story of New York writer Nick Dunne and his wife, Amy, whose relationship falls apart after they move to Missouri to look after Dunne’s sick mother.

When Amy goes missing, Dunne becomes the prime suspect in her murder and the mystery of her disappearance unravels under the gaze of scrutinizing media.

Affleck returns to a role in front of the camera in “Gone Girl” after establishing himself as a successful director with the Oscar-winning “Argo.” He plays Dunne, while Pike takes the role of Amy. Neil Patrick Harris stars as Amy’s ex-boyfriend, who gets wrapped up in the mystery.