David Fincher's "Gone Girl" to open New York Film Festival

David Fincher's "Gone Girl" will make its world premiere as the opening night film at the 52nd New York Film Festival.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center announced Thursday that the highly anticipated adaption of Gillian Flynn's best-selling novel will kick off the festival on September 26. The 20th Century Fox thriller, which stars Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike, will premiere in theaters shortly after on Oct. 3.

The Film Society noted that the film is "at once a grand panoramic vision of middle America, a uniquely disturbing exploration of the fault lines in a marriage, and a comedy that starts pitch black and only gets blacker, 'Gone Girl' is a great work of popular art by a great artist."

"'Gone Girl' is so many things at once: sharp as a razor about many aspects of American life that have been untouched by movies, very tough and just as funny, brilliantly acted, and 100 percent entertaining -- a wild ride from start to finish," said New York Film Festival Director and Selection Committee Chair, Kent Jones. "In short, a great American movie based on a literary phenomenon, directed by one of the best filmmakers alive. I'm so proud to have the world premiere of this film as our opening night."

Fincher also opened the New York Film Festival in 2010 with "The Social Network."

The New York Film Festival, hosted annually at Lincoln Center, runs through Oct. 12.