'Martian' rises to No. 1, debuts fail to launch
You can't keep a super-botanist astronaut down.
Matt Damon and the acclaimed drama The Martian orbited back to the top of the box office in its fourth weekend with $15.9 million (and $166.4 million total), according to studio estimates from Rentrak.
"The cream rises to the top, and The Martian has bridged that gap between being a very intelligent film that’s also very entertaining," says Rentrak senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian.
Jack Black horror comedy Goosebumps was just edged out of first place after taking the No. 1 spot last weekend; a $15.5 million take was good enough for second, bringing its total to $43.7 million. Steven Spielberg's Cold War drama Bridge of Spies came in No. 3 with $11.4 million ($32.6 million to date).
Review: 'The Martian' is out of this world
The continued strong performances of Spies and especially Martian help their chances this award season, Dergarabedian says. Plus, "if you’re a moviegoer and you have to choose, maybe you’re going with the brand names you know like Matt Damon and Tom Hanks."
A host of debuts crashed and burned around them, which made for "a pretty scary early Halloween for the movie industry," says Dergarabedian. "This is one of the most fragmented marketplaces I’ve ever seen."
Coming in fourth was the Vin Diesel action fantasy The Last Witch Hunter, which was the best of the newcomers with $10.8 million, and rounding out the top five was Adam Sandler's animated vampire comedy Hotel Transylvania 2 with $9 million.
Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, what's billed as the final chapter of the low-budget horror franchise, could only scare up $8.2 million, good enough for sixth.
Steve Jobs, which stars Oscar hopeful Michael Fassbender as the Apple tech giant, snagged just $7.3 million and seventh place as it expanded nationwide. (By comparison, Ashton Kutcher's Jobs debuted with $6.7 million two years ago.)
Review: 'Steve Jobs' marvels as man and movie
"If you’re chasing massive box office, it’s tough with these sorts of films that appeal to the intelligentsia and thus don’t find that mass audience who might just be waiting for Hunger Games and James Bond," says Dergarabedian.
Guillermo del Toro's spooky Gothic romance Crimson Peak fell to eighth, pulling in $5.6 million — down 58% from last week.
The Intern, starring Robert De Niro in the title role, ranked No. 9 with $3.9 million, and Christian football drama Woodlawn took No. 10 with $3.1 million.
Review: 'Kasbah' marks rocky effort for Murray
The comedy Rock the Kasbah played a sour tune for Bill Murray: The movie's $1.5 million take is an all-time low for the actor. And the musical Jem and the Holograms, based on the old 1980s cartoon, was off-key as well, with a $1.3 million haul that's the worst ever for a movie opening on 2,400-plus screens.
"If you’re trying to court the teen audience, you do so at your peril," Dergarabedian says. "They are the most fickle. You’re trying to figure out the mind of a teenager when you release a movie like Jem and the Holograms."
In limited release, Suffragette, about the women's suffrage movement, racked up $77,000 on four screens — averaging an impressive $19,250 per location — and abduction drama Room made $254,000 in 23 theaters.
Final numbers are expected Monday.