The Town, Ben Affleck’s second directorial feature, surprised analysts this weekend with a win at the box office. The film, which far surpassed Gone Baby Gone’s $5.5 million debut in 2007, earned $23.8 million—a September-best for Warner Bros. The drama, co-starring Jon Hamm and Jeremy Renner, also gave actor Affleck his first #1 film—outside of He’s Just Not that Into You—since Daredevil.

Although many had Easy A topping the charts, the film came in a very respectable second place. The Emma Stone-starrer – which only cost $8 million to produce – generated good reviews and a $17.7 million take.

The weekend’s other two new wide releases also landed in the Top 5. The PG-13 horror film Devil raised $12.3 million while Alpha and Omega, a more family-friendly entry, rang up $9.1 million in ticket sales.

1. The Town, Warner Bros., $23,808,032 (avg. $8322)
2. Easy A, Sony Screen Gems, $17,734,040 (avg. $6209)
3. Devil, Universal, $12,289,375 (avg. $4375)
4. Resident Evil: Afterlife, Sony, $10,002,592 (avg. $3117)
5. Alpha and Omega, Lionsgate, $9,106,906 (avg. $3469)
6. Takers, Sony, $3,026,285 (avg. $1415)
7. The American, Focus Features, $2,672,521 (avg. $1088)
8. The Other Guys, Sony, $1,972,046 (avg. $1079)
9. Inception, Warner Bros., $1,967,137 (avg. $1507)
10. Machete, 20th Century Fox, $1,755,550 (avg. $1030)

(You can review last week’s numbers here.)