The Goosebumps movie took the top spot this weekend, somewhat surprisingly beating out The Martian to deny it a third week atop the box office. It was a crowded week overall, with four new releases vying for attention, but it looks like nostalgia for the 90's continues, with the interest in Goosebumps being higher than expected. The Martian wasn't too far behind it though, grossing another $21 million to place it below Goosebumps' $23.5 million. The Martian has now earned $143 million total.
Meanwhile, the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg Cold War thriller Bridge of Spies opened with $15 million and a very adult audience (over 50% was over the age of 50), but it also got an "A" Cinemascore and could be fairly leggy, given good reviews and word of mouth. Crimson Peak on the other hand, disappointed, opening with just $12.9 million, Guillermo del Toro's lowest big studio opening weekend (and given the way the theater I saw it in responded, I don't expect crazy word of mouth to work its magic on this one). The top five was rounded out by Hotel Transylvania 2, which earned another $12 million for a $136 million total.
Top 5:
- Goosebumps- 23.5 million
- The Martian- 21.5 million
- Bridge of Spies- 15.4 million
- Crimson Peak- 12.9 million
- Hotel Transylvania 2- 12.5 million
In limited, Steve Jobs expanded to 60 theaters to earn about $1.6 million before it goes wide next week, and the debut of Oscar hopeful Room was pretty solid, with a 30k theater average on four screens for a 120k total. Truth, the Cate Blanchett film about CBS and Dan Rather, did not fare so well, opening in six theaters to just $76k. And Beasts of No Nation was released on Netflix but opened in 31 theaters to almost $51,000. Next week it's fairly crowded again with the wide release of Steve Jobs, Jem and the Holograms, The Last Witch Hunter and the new Paranormal Activity movie, along with the limited debuts of Rock the Kasbah, Suffragette and Burnt. Whew. And they wonder why it's so hard for so many adult driven films to find an audience this time of year.
