NEW YORK (AP) — Denzel Washington scored his third-best opening weekend and potentially spawned his first franchise with a $34.1 million debut for “The Equalizer.”

The Columbia Pictures release, in which Washington stars as a retired commando lured into a battle with the Russian mafia, is Washington’s second film with “Training Day” director Antoine Fuqua. The box office debut trails only Washington’s “Safe House” and “American Gangster.”

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