Ridley Scott’s newest space story may have taken place on the Red Planet. But the weekend looked mighty green.
Scott’s The Martian created an economic gravitational pull all its own, drawing an estimated $55 million into its orbit and spinning to the very top of the weekend’s box office derby. The Matt Damon-fronted flick just missed setting an opening weekend record for the month of October—one set by another little space-themed survival film called Gravity (which earned $55.7 million in 2013).
The Martian’s strong opening sucked a little life out of last week’s vampish victor, Hotel Transylvania 2. The animated movie stuffed another $33 million into its coffins—er, coffers, bringing its total bank to around $90.5 million.
Sicario isn’t technically a newbie on the box office stage. But it expanded from around 60 theaters to around 2,600, and saw a commensurate leap in its earnings. The gritty drug cartel-themed drama collected around $12.1 million, edging The Intern for third place. Man, interns, even when they’re played by Robert DeNiro, just don’t get much respect.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials seems to be cooling its jets. The second movie in The Maze Runner series eased to $7.7 million to close out the Top Five. Still, it was much speedier than the aptly named The Walk. This taut tightrope movie played on only IMAX screens for its opening weekend, so no one expected it to stroll away with a victory. Still, the $1.6 million it moseyed to makes for a disappointing dawdle.
Final figures update: 1. The Martian, $54.3 million; 2. Hotel Transylvania 2, $33.2 million; 3. Sicario, $12.1 million; 4. The Intern, $11.7 million; 5. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, $7.8 million.
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