Martian zaps box-office rivals

Matt Damon portrays an astronaut who has to find a way to subsist on a hostile planet in The Martian. It came in first at last weekend’s box office and made $54.3 million.
Matt Damon portrays an astronaut who has to find a way to subsist on a hostile planet in The Martian. It came in first at last weekend’s box office and made $54.3 million.

NEW YORK -- Opening just days after NASA announced finding evidence of water on Mars, The Martian soaked up moviegoers at the box office.

Ridley Scott's 3-D space epic touched down in theaters with a robust $54.3 million over the weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. The results again proved moviegoers' abiding thirst for space adventures, particularly ones that rely more on mathematics than monsters.

The 20th Century Fox release, starring Matt Damon as an astronaut left for dead on Mars, exceeded expectations to nearly rank as the biggest October debut ever. The estimated North American opening of The Martian surpassed that of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar ($47.5 million) and virtually equaled the debut of Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity ($55.8 million).

It's Scott's second best opening behind 2001's Hannibal and Damon's second best after 2007's Bourne Ultimatum.

Made for $108 million, The Martian received a publicity boost earlier in the week when NASA announced it had found evidence of water on the surface of Mars -- a cosmically fortuitous tie-in for a movie that celebrates NASA ingenuity. Adapted from the Andy Weir novel, The Martian -- more science-fact than science fiction -- relishes pragmatic scientific problem-solving and NASA's spirit of exploration.

"What separates this movie -- it has the backdrop of science -- but all of the science is presented in a way that's very approachable for all," said Chris Aronson, head of distribution for Fox.

Aronson noted that the shift in release date from Nov. 25 to early October gave the film a less crowded field of competition at the box office, where it could play well through the month. The film added $45.2 million internationally.

"Solid performances by recent space-related films like Interstellar and Gravity show that 'geeking-out' on all things outer space and science-related in the movie theater is not only a popular pastime, but has now made science actually 'cool,'" said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office firm Rentrak.

Yet October is proving especially busy with well-reviewed studio releases seeking broad audiences. Another acclaimed 3-D spectacle, Columbia's The Walk, took a back seat to The Martian. Ahead of a wider opening this week, Robert Zemeckis' dramatization of Philippe Petit's World Trade Center stunt took in just $1.6 million on 448 Imax screens.

Columbia spent a modest $35 million to make The Walk, which received strong reviews. Because the movie is a hard story to convey in marketing -- it's about the French aerialist who walked a tightrope between the twin towers in 1974 -- Columbia is counting on word of mouth to fill seats.

"You need word of mouth for this type of film and that's what this weekend was all about," said Columbia distribution head Rory Bruer. The film will look to parlay strong reviews out of its New York Film Festival debut and buzz from its vertigo-inducing 3-D.

Oct. 2's box-office champ, Hotel Transylvania 2, slid to second with about $33 million. Columbia's animated sequel has made $90.7 million in two weeks.

Denis Villeneuve's drug war thriller Sicario, starring Emily Blunt, shot up to third with $12.1 million for the acclaimed Lionsgate release.

The gay-rights drama Freeheld, starring Julianne Moore and Ellen Page, opened in limited release with a $40,000-per-screen average in New York and Los Angeles.

In its second weekend, The Intern finished fourth after adding about $11.7 million. Its domestic haul to date is almost $36.6 million.

Fox's young adult adaptation sequel Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials maintained its spot in the top five after its third weekend at the box office. It added $7.8 million, bringing its total in the United States and Canada to almost $63.4 million.

In very limited release, He Named Me Malala, the latest documentary from Davis Guggenheim, drew quiet responses. Fox Searchlight, the studio behind Malala, said it was pleased with its result, adding that documentaries "take a little time to find their largest audience."

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

The top 20 movies at U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday through Sunday, followed by distribution studio, gross, number of theater locations, average receipts per location, total gross and number of weeks in release, as compiled Monday by Rentrak (The Walk opened in a few Imax theaters Sept. 30):

  1. The Martian, 20th Century Fox, $54,308,575, 3,831 locations, $14,176 average, $54,308,575, one week.

  2. Hotel Transylvania 2, Columbia, $33,192,596, 3,754 locations, $8,842 average, $90,734,361, two weeks.

  3. Sicario, Lionsgate, $12,148,041, 2,620 locations, $4,637 average, $15,149,336, three weeks.

  4. The Intern, Warner Bros., $11,685,064, 3,320 locations, $3,520 average, $36,588,956, two weeks.

  5. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials, 20th Century Fox, $7,804,991, 3,319 locations, $2,352 average, $63,396,115, three weeks.

  6. Black Mass, Warner Bros., $5,846,126, 2,768 locations, $2,112 average, $52,462,156, three weeks.

  7. Everest, Universal, $5,640,500, 3,009 locations, $1,875 average, $33,311,810, three weeks.

  8. The Visit, Universal, $3,972,020, 2,296 locations, $1,730 average, $57,717,110, four weeks.

  9. War Room, Columbia, $2,824,067, 1,746 locations, $1,617 average, $60,568,680, six weeks.

  10. The Perfect Guy, Columbia, $2,412,366, 1,364 locations, $1,769 average, $52,627,556, four weeks.

  11. The Met: Il Trovatore (2015), Fathom Events, $1,750,000, 930 locations, $1,882 average, $1,750,000, one week.

  12. The Walk, Columbia, $1,560,299, 448 locations, $3,483 average, $1,982,573, one week.

  13. The Green Inferno, High Top Releasing, $1,313,799, 1,543 locations, $851 average, $5,956,222, two weeks.

  14. Singh Is Bling, Eros Entertainment, $487,040, 135 locations, $3,608 average, $487,040, one week.

  15. Pixels, Columbia, $471,116, 331 locations, $1,423 average, $77,812,010, 11 weeks.

  16. A Walk in the Woods, Broad Green Pictures, $448,887, 553 locations, $812 average, $28,425,480, five weeks.

  17. Grandma, Sony Pictures Classics, $393,029, 315 locations, $1,248 average, $5,885,121, seven weeks.

  18. Pawn Sacrifice, Bleecker Street, $370,028, 671 locations, $551 average, $2,062,534, three weeks.

  19. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation, Paramount, $332,885, 377 locations, $883 average, $194,109,254, 10 weeks.

  20. Minions, Universal, $308,725, 265 locations, $1,165 average, $333,909,265, 13 weeks.

MovieStyle on 10/09/2015

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