Matt Damon and Ridley Scott have managed to top 4 out of the 5 weekends in October, as The Martian once again topped the charts. Now in its fifth weekend, the well-received outer space thriller was off just 28% to $11.4 million, for a strong $182.8 million gross in one month of release. Part of the reason for the small drop was the addition of IMAX screens for one week only. The last time a movie returned to top the box office weeks after its release was Frozen (though that was at the end of the holiday season and in its 7th weekend). Regardless, it shows that audiences are liking what they are seeing and spreading the word. Martian is about to pass the final gross of Interstellar ($187 million), and will easily pass $200 million. Next weekend, James Bond will likely steal Matt Damon's thunder, but at this point, distributor 20th Century Fox probably won't care. They're already at nearly $430 million worldwide with still some markets left to open.Once again narrowly coming in second place, Goosebumps enjoyed a very solid hold over Halloween weekend. Sony's adaptation of R.L. Stine's books was off just 34% to $10.2 million, for a very solid $57.1 million gross in 17 days. With Halloween passed and The Peanuts Movie just around the corner, don't expect Goosebumps to fall hard next weekend. Still though, a finish around $70 million would still be a decent result considering Sony's rough year.
Repeating in third place for the third-straight week, positive word-of-mouth continues to propel Bridge of Spies. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks were off just 29% to $8.1 million, for a very solid $45.2 million pick-up in 17 days. With a strong chance at Oscar nominations, Bridge looks likely to continue playing strong through November as positive word-of-mouth and awards season buzz continues to spread.
With Halloween to its benefit, Hotel Transylvania 2 jumped up a spot to fourth place in its sixth weekend. The hit animated sequel fell just 34% to $5.8 million, for a strong $156 million pick-up in 42 days. In the process, the sequel passed its predecessor's $148 million final domestic gross, and became Sony Pictures Animation's first movie to pass $150 million domestically. It also has earned $375 million worldwide with still Asia to open. Halloween's passing and The Peanuts Movie opening Friday will definitely spell trouble next weekend for the Drac Pack.
Out of all the new releases, it was Bradley Cooper's Burnt which pulled in the most dough. But that's where the good news ends. The cooking drama earned only $5 million from 3,003 locations (an abysmal $1,678 per-venue average). That was just short of expectations, which had forecasted a $6-7 million start. Despite getting a strong marketing campaign from distributor The Weinstein Company, Burnt was hurt by negative critical reception (29% on Rotten Tomatoes), as well as too much competition for adults. The budget was $20 million, so the financial risk here for TWC was minimal at least. It also isn't good for Cooper, as he had proven to be a decent draw in the past for movies like The Hangover and Oscar bait like Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle.
Last week's two horror flicks failed to find some solace over Halloween weekend. The Last Witch Hunter fell 56% to $4.8 million, for a dismal $18.6 million 10-day gross. The Vin Diesel reboot has done decently overseas so far, with $40 million picked up so far. But still, this one will likely close around $25 million stateside, one-third of its $75 million pricetag. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension fell 57% to $3.5 million, for a distressing $13.6 million pick-up in 10 days, with not much more to go (Paramount is releasing it on VOD next weekend).
In a rare embarrassing miss, Sandra Bullock hit a career low with Our Brand is Crisis. The political dramedy opened well below expectations, pulling in just $3.4 million (a small $1,558 per-venue average from 2,202 locations). This is the lowest start for the Oscar winner, behind 1996's Two if By Sea ($4.6 million). Critical reception was negative (33% on Rotten Tomatoes despite many praising Bullock's performance), while competition for adults was obviously a factor here also. Look for this to fade fairly quickly, as distributor Warner Bros. continues to have a disappointing year (after Pan, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and others have failed to make a profit). The budget was $28 million.Holding decently over Halloween weekend, Crimson Peak was off 45% to $3.1 million, for a still-disappointing $27.7 million pick-up in 17 days. It has passed its $55 million budget with a $62 million worldwide gross so far, but that won't be enough to turn a profit for Universal. Rounding out the Top 10 was another Universal pic that disappointed, Steve Jobs. The well-received biopic crashed and burned, off 64% to $2.6 million, for a very disappointing $14.5 million gross in 24 days.
Outside the Top 10, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse failed to generate hardly any attention, earning only $1.8 million in 12th place from 1,509 locations ($1,173 per-venue average). The budget here was likely small, but distributor Paramount employed a similar VOD 17-day later approach. causing some theater chains to back out. Looks like that experiment didn't work...
Next week, the holiday movie season officially begins with the latest James Bond movie Spectre, and the return of Charlie Brown and Snoopy in The Peanuts Movie. Its sure to be a strong moviegoing weekend.
