In The Martian, Mark Watney shows a remarkable ability to survive, and even thrive, for weeks upon weeks in an environment incredibly hostile to life.
I guess the same could be said of the movie itself.
For the fourth time in five weeks, Ridley Scott’s The Martian won the box office crown—though this time it crossed the finish line in more of an oxygen-deprived stagger than a sprint. The movie pocketed an estimated $11.4 million in a super-slow weekend at the multiplex. For a little perspective, that kind of financial figure wouldn’t have made the Top Five back in the last weekend in May. (Avengers: Age of Ultron finished fifth that weekend with $11,401,402.) Perhaps even as we speak, movie studios are lobbying Congress to never allow trick-or-treating on a Saturday again.
Still, you can buy a lot of leftover Halloween candy with $11.4 million. My bet is the folks from The Martian will use it on Mars bars.
But The Martian was far from the only geezer of a flick to make moderate hay: Old movies continued to embarrass the newcomers. Goosebumps and Bridge of Spies, both movies now in their third weeks, finished second and third with $10.2 million and $8.1 million, respectively. Hotel Transylvania 2 is in its 6th week—which, in movie terms, makes the film about as old as its undead star. But Transylvania’s relative decrepitude didn’t stop it from banking another $5.8 million for fourth place.
We don’t see our first newcomer until we hit No. 5 and Burnt. The Bradley Cooper vehicle was as good as its name, earning just $5 million to underperform even the most pessimistic of prognostications. Sorry, but Burnt is (ahem) toast.
Still, it did better than another aptly named movie, Our Brand Is Crisis. Despite the star wattage of Sandra Bullock, Crisis earned just $3.4 million, finishing a bit behind two of last week’s bombs, The Last Witch Hunter and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension.
Can The Martian do the unthinkable and find a way to win for the fifth time in six weeks? As much chance as Mark Watley would have on Mars wearing nothing but a leisure suit. Sure, Halloween is over, but there’s a big, bad Spectre coming to town.
Final figures update: 1. The Martian, $11.7 million; 2. Goosebumps, $9.9 million; 3. Bridge of Spies, $8.4 million; 4. Hotel Transylvania 2, $5.9 million; 5. The Last Witch Hunter, $5.2 million; 6. Burnt, $5 million.
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