Weekend Actuals: 'The Martian' Rockets to Second Best October Opening Record, 'Sicario' Solid in Nationwide Expansion, 'The Walk' Loses Balance

     The weekend's new wide release, Ridley Scott's 'The Martian', barely missed the October opening weekend record, which is still held by 'Gravity'. Meanwhile, 'Sicario' was greeted with good numbers going into its nationwide expansion. Unfortunately, not all of the new releases was a winner, as Robert Zemeckis's 'The Walk' pretty much lost its balance going into the weekend.
     In first place, 'The Martian' took in an outstanding $54.3 million debut, which is just $1.5 million behind 'Gravity' and the October opening record. The $108-million Matt Damon led sci-fi from Fox managed a strong $14,176 per-theater average, which is just below the $15,604 average of 'Gravity'. 'Martian' started out with $18.1 million Friday, increased 22.6% on Saturday to gross $22.3 million, and declined 37.5% on Sunday to earn $13.9. million. That places the weekend-to-Friday ratio at a very promising 3-to-1. 'Martian' obviously benefited greatly from strong reviews (94% on Rotten Tomatoes) and solid word-of-mouth ('A' on CinemaScore) as well as NASA's latest announcement of actual water on Mars. The novel has also been considered by many to be a best-seller, and that book's fanbase pretty much came out to see this. While it will obviously have great legs going forward, 'Martian' will probably fail to experience the strong holds 'Gravity' did back in 2013. Still, expect a domestic finish of around $220 million.

     In second place, 'Hotel Transylvania 2' exceeded expectations yet again as it had a very strong second-weekend hold. The $80-million Adam Sandler led animated comedy from Sony dipped just 31.5% from its debut to gross $33.2 million. That is a better hold than its predecessor's 36.4% decline back in 2012. Word-of-mouth ('A-' CinemaScore) has been more helpful to 'Transylvania' than critical reviews (50% on RT), and with $90.7 million in the bank already, it should continue to carry the film to a $160m+ domestic cume.

     While it had to settle for third place, 'Sicario' nevertheless posted an excellent nationwide expansion this weekend with $12.1 million, up a very impressive 607.4% from last weekend when it was playing at 59 locations. The $30-million crime thriller from Lionsgate grossed $4.3 million on Friday, increased 8.8% on Saturday to earn $4.7 million, and fell 31.9% on Sunday to make $3.2 million, putting the weekend-to-Friday ratio at a solid 2.81-to-1. 'Sicario' has so far brought in $15.1 million, and will have to hope to hold up well against upcoming adult-targeting releases like 'Steve Jobs', 'Bridge of Spies', and 'Our Brand is Crisis'. Still, it should wind up with over/under $45 million.
     Fourth place belonged to 'The Intern', a $35-million comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro. It eased 34.1% from last weekend and grossed $11.7 million. 'Intern' continues to slightly outpace expectations as it has taken in a 10-day total of $36.6 million, and should still close with $65 million.

     Rounding out the Top 5, $61-million YA adaptation 'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials' fell 45.3% to earn $7.8 million. 'Scorch Trials' has been performing solidly but has also been underwhelming, as its cume is now at $63.4 million. Due to weak reviews (50% on RT), uneventful word-of-mouth ('B+' CinemaScore), and its nature as a sequel, 'Scorch Trials' should end up in the range of $76-$85 million.
     $53-million Johnny Depp led crime film 'Black Mass' grossed $5.8 million, down 47% from last weekend and bringing its cume to $52.5 million. 'Black Mass' has been front-loaded thus far in comparison to 'The Town' and 'The Departed'. A domestic finish of around $70 million should be likely.
     'Everest' clearly took a big hit from losing its IMAX screens to 'The Walk', but nobody expected a drop this big. The $55-million thriller from Universal plummeted 57.4% from its nationwide expansion, grossing a meager $5.6 million. 'Everest' has so far been unimpressive, with a domestic take of just $33.3 million. 'Everest' isn't really a flop, but it isn't a success either (or at least domestically, since it has grossed $104.1m overseas). Expect 'Everest' to close with around $45 million.
     M. Night Shyamalan's $5-million horror comedy 'The Visit' took in $4 million this weekend, down 40.5%. 'Visit' has been experiencing great holds for a film in the horror genre, and those holds have got it to a solid $57.7 million cume. If 'Visit' can continue getting respectable drops, $70 million isn't out of the question.
     'War Room' placed in ninth this weekend with $2.8 million, declining just 33.4% as well as passing the $60-million mark in the process. The $3-million production has brought in a very impressive $60.6 million in 38 days, and still looks to finish with around $68 million.
     'The Perfect Guy' rounded out the Top 10 with a $2.4 million fourth weekend and a 49.5% drop. The $12-million Sony thriller has grossed a strong $52.6 million, and $55 million should be a lock.

     In 11th place, TriStar's 'The Walk' eaked out a paltry $1.6 million this weekend for a $3,460 average. Since opening on Wednesday, the $35-million biographical drama has made a weak $1.98 million. Playing in 448 IMAX locations, 'The Walk' opened with $240.4k on Wednesday, declined 24.3% on Thursday to gross $181.9k, increased 114.6% on Friday to earn $390.3k, increased another 80.1% on Saturday to make $702.9k, and fell 33.6% to make $467k. That places the weekend-to-Friday ratio at 4.01-to-1. While that is undeniably solid, and reviews (86% on RT) and word-of-mouth (85% Flixter score) are strong, 'Walk' will have a difficult time finding balance going forward. Next weekend it looks to expand nationwide, and with a below-par performance, should end up like 'Everest' and barely make anything at all.
     Eli Roth's $5-million cannibal horror 'The Green Inferno', like I said last weekend, pretty much died out when it grossed $1.3 million, down a whopping 62.7% from its opening. With a $6 million take, it should end up with $7 million total.
     Overall, this weekend's Top 12 was up 11.7% from last weekend, making $142.7 million, and up 2.3% from last year when 'Gone Girl' narrowly beat 'Annabelle for first place. Next weekend, Warner Bros. releases 'Pan', which is pretty much a wild card due to how big-budget originals usually perform, and Universal's 'Steve Jobs', which opens in select locations in NY/LA.