Columbus Day weekend isn’t one of your bigger box office holidays, but it can prove profitable for the right film.Argoopened strong over 2012’s holiday frame, even if it did have to settle for second place behindTaken 2. In fact, holdovers have topped new releases on each of the last five Columbus Day weekends. You have to go all the way back toCouples Retreatin 2009 to find a new title that dominated this particular box office frame.David Fincher’sGone Girlclaimed its second weekend at number one at this time last year and, in 2013,Gravitywas the holdover on top. In keeping with recent history, this year’s Columbus Day title goes toThe Martian. The Fox feature came close to the all-time October opening record one week ago and didn’t lose much momentum in its sophomore frame.
The Martiantook in an estimated $37 million from 3,854 locations to claim its second consecutive box office victory. That represents a drop of just 33% and puts the film over the $100 million mark as of Sunday. So far,Hotel Transylvania 2is the only other fall title to reach triple digit grosses. After ten days in theatres,The Martianis running 11% behindGravityand 12% ahead ofInterstellarat the same point in their box office runs.
If the Columbus Day holiday can prove profitable for the right film, then audiences clearly felt that Warner Bros.’Panwas all wrong. In the studio’s defense, they originally planned to release the big budget origin take on Peter Pan this summer, but decided that the competition for family audiences was just too fierce. From 3,515 locations,Panearned an estimated $15.5 million. That’s pretty low for a fantasy film, and shockingly low when you considerPanwas budgeted at around $150 million. On the other hand, expectations for the film were never very high. At this point W.B. has to hope that international audiences can helpPanmake up some financial ground.
We told you yesterdaythatThe Walkwas not making much of an impression entering its first weekend in wide release. The Sony/TriStar feature originally launched in 448 IMAX and premium large format locations on September 30, but failed to generate much enthusiasm despite its positive reviews (86% on Rotten Tomatoes) and promising A- CinemaScore.The Walkbrought in just $3.6 million from 2,506 locations this weekend, or about half of its very modest target.
In a much more auspicious debut, Universal’sSteve Jobsbegan its rollout in New York and Los Angeles this weekend. From four locations, the biopic earned an estimated $521,000, or $130,250 per screen. That’s the best per-theatre average sinceAmerican Sniperclaimed an average of $633,450 from four locations in December 2014.
This weekend’s overall box office gross was just $116 million, down from $147.4 million at this time last year. Looking ahead,The Martianshould cede first place to the debut ofGoosebumpsnext weekend. The big-screen adaptation of theR.L. Stinebook series is projected to open with close to $25 million.Goosebumps’ fellow new releases,Steven Spielberg’sBridge of Spiesand horror picCrimson Peak, should both come in around $15 million.
The Martian
$37,000,000
Hotel Transylvania 2
$20,300,000
$15,530,000
The Intern
$8,660,000
$7,350,000
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
$5,250,000
$3,650,000
Black Mass
$3,130,000
$3,030,000
$2,420,000
