Ridley Scott's sci-fi drama The Martian surpassed expectations this weekend to land at 55 million for the three day opening, just falling short of Gravity's October record from two years ago of 55.8 million. It could actually beat the record when official numbers come in tomorrow, but even if it doesn't, the second best opening weekend of October is nothing to sneeze at. The movie landed an "A" Cinemascore as well, so expect it to hold up over the coming weeks, and it's also Matt Damon's personal best headliner opening since 2007's The Bourne Ultimatum. In second place was Hotel Transylvania 2, falling just a tad to earn another 33 million for a new total of 90 million domestic.
Meanwhile, The Walk pretty much bombed in its IMAX only release, bringing in just 1.7 million and 2 million since Wednesday- not a good number as it looks to go wide next weekend. But Sicario did well in its expansion, pulling in 12 million after its successful limited release, also a bit more than expected, and with the best PTA in release- 67k per theater. The Intern held well in its second week also, bringing in another 11 million for a 36 million total, and Maze Runner 2 rounded out the top five.
Top 5:
- The Martian- 55 million
- Hotel Transylvania 2- 33 million
- Sicario- 12.1 million
- The Intern- 11.6 million
- Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials- 7.7 million
In specialty release, the gay rights drama Freeheld opened to 40k on about five screens- not great, while the documentary He Named Me Malala opened to 56k in five theaters nationwide. Next week we have the wide release of The Walk against the opening of the 150 million family film Pan, which is tracking very low at the moment, so The Martian may have the field to itself again. See you then.
