Weekend Box Office Report: ‘The Martian’ Continues to Dominate
You thought Halloween would see a horror movie lurch its way to the top of the box office? You thought wrong. Once again, The Martian took the number one spot at the box office this weekend, locking it in as the film of October 2015. Of the past five weekends, it only dropped out of first place once and even then, it was a very close second. It should continue faring well in the weeks ahead, but as we shift into November and the big holiday releases arrive, its time at the top will come to an end. In the meantime, all new releases must suffer its power.
| Film | Weekend | Per Screen | ||
| 1 | The Martian | $11,400,000 (-27.5%) | $3,543 | $182,806,000 |
| 2 | Goosebumps | $10,210,000 (-34.2%) | $2,822 | $57,104,000 |
| 3 | Bridge of Spies | $8,060,000 (-29.1%) | $2,802 | $45,202,000 |
| 4 | Hotel Transylvania 2 | $5,830,000 (-34.4%) | $1,968 | $156,004,000 |
| 5 | Burnt | $5,038,000 | $1,678 | $5,038,000 |
| 6 | The Last Witch Hunter | $4,750,000 (-56.1%) | $1,541 | $18,612,000 |
| 7 | Paranormal Activity | $3,450,000 (-57.3%) | $2,255 | $13,569,000 |
| 8 | Our Brand is Crisis | $3,430,000 | $1,558 | $3,430,000 |
| 9 | Crimson Peak | $3,110,000 (-45.1%) | $1,473 | $27,745,000 |
| 10 | Steve Jobs | $2,580,000 (-63.7%) | $1,035 | $14,540,000 |
In its fifth weekend, The Martian grossed $11 million, bringing its grand total to $182 million so far. It’ll cross $200 million soon enough and will probably settle around $230 million or so. The best case scenario is that it will play well through November and reach $250 million. After all, with a drop of only 27%, it may have strong legs yet.
Speaking of strong legs, Goosebumps only dropped 34%, grossing $10 million over the weekend for a $57 million gross. It may lose some of its strength after Halloween, but it’s doing well enough to reach $80 million for sure, maybe $100 if things go perfectly. The arrival of The Peanuts Movie next week may derail all other family films in the top 10. That also includes Hotel Transylvania 2, which has been doing steady Halloween business (another $5 million this week for a $156 million gross). The influx of family friendly entertainment in the coming weeks may push these two out of the running earlier than anyone hoped.
Before we leave the subject of movies with staying power and get into the bomb-filled bottom of the top 10, let’s dwell for a moment on Bridge of Spies. Dropping only 29%, Steven Spielberg’s latest made $8 million over the weekend for a $45 million total. It will slowly and steadily march onward toward $70 million or so, which is a solid number for a movie targeted at slightly older crowds.
And that brings us to the rest of the top 10, which is filled with the dead and dying. Let’s start with the new releases. Burnt opened in fifth place with a dismal $5 million and it will vanish completely when Spectre arrives next week. Our Brand is Crisis fared worse, arriving eighth place with only $3 million. You can’t even see Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse because it opened outside of the top 10 with a dismal $1.7 million.
Meanwhile, The Last Witch Hunter continued to bomb, plummeting 56%, but it still looked a little better than Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, Crimson Peak, and Steve Jobs, all of which continued to play far below expectations. The box office needs a desperate shot in the arm right now. Thankfully, James Bond is just around the corner.
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