1. The Martian (review here)- $55M
The big mystery all week has been whether The Martian could best Gravity's October box office record. Well, it was a tight one, but Ridley Scott's space drama couldn't quite defy Gravity. The Martian opened with a terrific $55M, which is just behind Gravity's $55.8M. It's always possible those numbers change tomorrow when the official totals are calculated, but really does it matter? A start like this puts the Matt Damon-led film with the impeccable cast in awards territory, and we all remember how well Gravity did a couple of years ago, right? The Martian may be on even better footing. The reviews are phenomenal, Damon plays a more likable character, and the film is stirring up pro-science sentiment all around the country. Think Hollywood wouldn't want to look "cool" by tapping into that a little bit?
2. Hotel Transylvania 2- $33M/$90.5M
Having one of the strongest second-week holds in a long time, Hotel Transylvania 2 only slid 32% for an additional $33M. With so few family friendly animated movies it was obviously going to have long legs, but this goes beyond the Adam Sandler-voiced comedy's projections. Audiences really love Sandler...when they don't have to actually look at him.
3. Sicario- $12M/$15M
The biggest mover of the week was Denis Villeneuve's stunning drug war thriller, Sicario. Expanding to over 2600 theaters in its third week of release, the film exploded with $12M. The film stars Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin, and Benicio Del Toro, so it wasn't hurting for star power as all are proven draws, and the reviews are some of the year's best. But it's not unusual for a film to do great on the indie scene only to tread water upon expansion. That's clearly not happening here, and makes Lionsgate's decision to roll on with a sequel look even smarter.
4. The Intern- $11.6M/$36.5M
Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro have carried Nancy Meyers' The Intern to another solid week, earning $11.6M and bringing the tally to $36.5M. The film didn't cost a ton and now it has earned more than its budget. At this point it's looking to be on the upper end of Meyers efforts.
5. Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials- $7.6M/$63.2M
6. Black Mass- $5.9M/$52.5M
7. Everest- $5.5M/$33.1M
8. The Visit- $3.9M/$57.6M
9. War Room- $2.8M/$60.5M
10. The Perfect Guy- $2.4M/$52.7M
Getting off to a shaky start only Philippe Petit could withstand, Robert Zemeckis' The Walk (review here) opened on Wednesday with just $1.9M total. Granted, it was only in 448 IMAX and 3D theaters with a wider rollout next week, but considering how well Everest did in a similar situation this has to be disappointing.
