Going into the weekend, manybox officeprognosticators were wondering if directorRidley Scott’sThe Martiancould break the October opening weekend record set two years ago byGravity, which earned $55.7 million in its first weekend in theaters. As it turns out,The Martiangave a valiant effort, but came up just short, taking in an estimated $55 million, according toBox Office Mojo. Of course, the film is still in great shape, earning back nearly half of its $108 million budget after just three days in theaters.
The Martianwas widely beloved by critics, earning a 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, opening in 3,831 theaters for an impressive $14,357 per-screen average. If these estimates hold true when the actual numbers roll in tomorrow,The Martianwill have fell just $700,000 short ofGravity’s October box office record, but it is still an impressive showing nonetheless.The Martianwas the only new movie opening wide this weekend, easily dethroning last weekend’s winner, the animated sequelHotel Transylvania 2, which dropped to second place with $33 million, just a 31.9% drop from last weekend’s $48.4 million debut.
Ridley Scott’ssci-fidrama has been winning over critics ever since its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, with some even calling it the best movie of the year, so far, following the quest to save an astronaut stranded on Mars. We still have a long way to go until the awards season races truly start to heat up, butThe Martianhas emerged as one of the top front runners. With an all-star cast includingMatt Damon,Jessica Chastain,Kristen Wiig,Kate Mara,Sebastian Stan,Sean Bean,Michael Peña,Chiwetel EjioforandJeff Daniels,The Martianhas a shot to continue the tradition of outer space movies that are both financial and critical hits, includingGravityandInterstellar, which opened in the same frame the past two years.
WhileThe Martianwas the only movie debuting in wide release, this weekend also brought the nationwide expansion of the critical darlingSicario, which rose from 10th place last weekend to third place this weekend with $12 million. The drama expanded to 2,620 theaters, with a solid $4,609 per-screen average. The film, which features an all-star ensemble cast includingEmily Blunt,Benicio Del Toro,Josh BrolinandJon Bernthal, has now earned just over $15 million after three weeks in theaters, from a $30 million budget. The drama has already been considered an early Oscar favorite for Best Picture and several other categories, but we’ll have to wait and see how it fares once the nominations are announced in January.
The Interndropped from second place to fourth place this weekend with $11.6 million ($36.5 million overall), withThe Maze Runner: The Scorch Trialsrounding out the top five with $7.6 million ($63.2 million overall).The Internonly dropped 34.5% in its second weekend, but it remains to be seen if it can keep up this solid pace at the box office in the weeks to come. The dramatic comedy features an ensemble cast that includesRobert De Niro,Anne Hathaway,Rene Russo,Anders Holm,Andy RannellsandAdam DeVine.
Rounding out the top 10 isBlack Mass($5.9 million, $52.5 million),Everest($5.5 million, $33.1 million),The Visit($3.9 million, $56.9 million),War Room($2.8 million, $60.5 million) andThe Perfect Guy($2.4 million, $52.6 million). Falling just short of the top 10 this weekend isThe Walk, which opened exclusively in 448IMAXtheaters this weekend, taking in $1.5 million, with a solid $3,460 per-screen average. The film expands nationwide next weekend, so it will surely find a spot in the top 10 one week from today.
Opening in limited release this weekend is Lionsgate’sFreeheld, which earned $40,000 from 5 theaters for an $8,000 per-screen average and The Weinstein Company’sShanghai, which opened after nearly five years of delays, earning a dreadful $26,400 from 103 theaters, for a horrid $256 per-screen average.Shanghai’s limited release comes with little fanfare, especially since the film first debuted at the Shanghai Film Festival way back in 2010.John Cusackleads an international cast includingLi Gong, Chow Yun-Fat,David Morse,Ken Watanabe,Franka Potente,Jeffrey Dean MorganandHugh Bonneville. Fox Searchlight’s documentary He Named Me Malala also opened in just four theaters, earning an impressive $56,000 for a $14,000 per-screen average
Looking forward to next weekend, Warner Bros.‘Panis the only new wide release, withThe Walkexpanding nationwide. Opening in limited release is the highly-anticipatedSteve Jobs, starringMichael Fassbender, which will get a nationwide expansion on October 23, Picturehouse’s Big Stone Gap, starringPatrick WilsonandAshley Judd, Vertical Entertainment’sThe Final GirlsstarringNina DobrevandTaissa Farmigaand foreign films Victoria and Xenia. Be sure to check back on Sunday for the box office estimates, and again next Tuesday for next week’s predictions. Until then, check out the top 10 estimates below.
