Dracula Untold vanquished by Ben Affleck at US box office

Evans played historical figure Vlad the Impaler in Dracula Untold

A new Dracula origins story has failed to sink its teeth into Ben Affleck's Gone Girl at the US box office.

Dracula Untold, starring Welsh actor Luke Evans, took $23.4 million (£14.5 million), less than Gone Girl's second weekend haul of $26.8m (£16.6m).

Steve Carell's family comedy Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, made its debut at three with $19.1m (£11.9m).

Horror film Annabelle claimed fourth place, with The Judge in fifth.

Starring Robert Downey Jr as a successful lawyer who has to defend his estranged father, a veteran judge played by Godfather actor Robert Duvall, it earned $13.3m (£8.2m) in its opening weekend.

Annabelle, starring Peaky Blinders actress Annabelle Wallis, tells of a couple who experience terrifying supernatural occurrences involving a vintage doll.

The film, a prequel to 2013 hit The Conjuring, spooked audiences into giving up $16.4m (£10.1m) in its second weekend on release.

Gone Girl has so far earned $78.3m (£48.7m) at the US box office

A diversity of choices is resulting in robust post-summer ticket sales, according to Paul Dergarabedian of box-office tracker Rentrak.

"We're making up a lot of ground after a summer season that was down 15 percent," he explained.

Gone Girl stars Affleck as a writer who becomes a suspect when his wife, played by Rosamund Pike, goes missing.

Since opening in the US last week, David Fincher's adaptation of Gillian Flynn's best-selling novel has earned $78.3m (£48.7m).

"To have an adult drama like this hold up so well for two weekends in a row is really unusual," said Dergarabedian.