Weekend Actuals: Audiences Get 'Goosebumps' and 'Bridge of Spies', 'Crimson Peak' Doesn't Thrill

     It was a close race for the #1 spot this weekend, as Sony's new release 'Goosebumps' barely beat Fox's 'The Martian' in its third weekend. Meanwhile, Disney's Cold War thriller 'Bridge of Spies' opened somewhat modestly while 'Crimson Peak' practically bombed.
     'Goosebumps' performed below expectations, although it still did solid business in the #1 spot. The $58-million Jack Black led horror comedy adaptation of R. L. Stine's series of novels grossed a strong $23.6 million for a $6,746 per-theater average. That is especially good as it was first projected to earn just $18 million in its debut weekend. Starting out with $7.3 million on Friday, 'Goosebumps' increased a healthy 32.9% on Saturday to earn $9.8 million, and dropped 33.4% on Sunday to gross $6.5 million. That puts the weekend-to-Friday ratio at a solid 3.23-to-1. It was likely aided by strong reviews (72% on Rotten Tomatoes) and word-of-mouth ('A' CinemaScore) as well as opening just a week before Halloween. With no notable family competition until November 6 when Fox's 'The Peanuts Movie' comes out, it should hold up very well throughout the rest of October. A $75 million finish should be likely.
     Although 'The Martian' had to settle for second place, it still held up well this weekend, dropping 42.4% and making $21.3 million. The $108-million Matt Damon led sci-fi adaptation of Andy Weir's best-seller has been performing very strongly thus far, with a $143.6 million domestic cume as of today. Fueled by excellent reviews (93% on RT) and word-of-mouth (93% Flixter score), $225 million is still a lock at this point.

     'Bridge of Spies' landed in third this weekend, with a three-day take of $15.4 million. That is below pre-release expectations, which tended to range from $16-$19 million. Nevertheless, the $40-million Tom Hanks led historical thriller from Steven Spielberg nabbed a respectable $5,468 per-theater average. 'Spies' began with $5.4 million on Friday, increased an encouraging 15.3% on Saturday to earn $6.2 million, and fell 38.4% to make $3.8 million on Sunday. That puts the weekend-to-Friday ratio at a great 2.85-to-1. Very strong reviews (93% on RT) and word-of-mouth ('A' CinemaScore) likely helped 'Spies', and with its nature of being a Spielberg film, the movie should be able to get past $55 million total.
     Guillermo del Toro's gothic horror 'Crimson Peak' belly-flopped into fourth place this weekend with just $13.1 million, representing a poor $4,405 average. Suffering day-to-day declines throughout the weekend instead of even the smallest uptick, 'Peak' began with $5.3 million on Friday, declined a light 6.3% on Saturday to gross $4.9 million, and plummeted 39.7% on Sunday to earn $3 million. That places the ratio at a disappointing and front-loaded 2.47-to-1, although there is the possibility of holding up well once Halloween comes. Otherwise, the $55-million horror from Universal and Legendary should end its run with a lackluster $35 million.
     In fifth place, 'Hotel Transylvania 2' grossed $12.6 million this weekend, down 38.1% from last weekend. The $80-million animated comedy has so far grossed an outstanding $136.8 million, which is more than what the first film had at the same point. A total of around $165 million is still possible, and would be a nice rebound for both Sony and star Adam Sandler.

     Last weekend's big-budget flop 'Pan' continued to bomb horribly this weekend, falling 61.7% from its debut and landing a disappointing $5.9 million second weekend gross. The $150-million Hugh Jackman starrer from Warner Bros. has so far made just $25.7 million, which is behind fellow Warner Bros. flop 'Jupiter Ascending', which opened earlier this year. A $36 million finale would be reasonable to expect.
     'The Intern' eased 37.2% in its fourth weekend, taking in $5.4 million. The $35-million comedy has grossed a very respectable $58.8 million, and it remains to be seen if it could crack $70 million.
     $30-million crime thriller 'Sicario' slipped 39.9% from its second week in nationwide release, grossing $4.6 million. The strongly-reviewed Emily Blunt led film from Lionsgate has so far brought in a solid $34.7 million cume, and $40 million total is on the horizon.

     Faith-based drama 'Woodlawn' debuted with an excellent $4 million. That is way below 'War Room''s $11.4 million opening, but is ahead of the $3.6 million debut of 2015 release 'Do You Believe?'. Although that is a strong debut, the film reportedly costs $25 million, so it will need a multiplier of at least 6.1x to pass that budget. Anyways, 'Woodlawn' started out with $1.5 million on Friday, decreased 8.9% on Saturday to make $1.4 million, and fell a slim 14.1% on Sunday to gross $1.2 million. That puts the weekend-to-Friday ratio at 2.67-to-1, which is fairly front-loaded with its genre in mind. $13-$16 million is likely.
     'Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials' brought in $2.9 million, which is down 46.8% from last weekend. The $61-million YA adaptation has brought in a strong $75.5 million so far, although that is below expectations and behind the first film, and $80 million total is still a lock.
     'Steve Jobs' jumped up 5 spots from last weekend, raking in a strong $1.5 million ($25.2k average) and up 190.1% from when it grossed $521.5k from 4 locations last weekend. The $30-million Michael Fassbender led biopic from Universal has so far grossed $2.2 million. Next weekend sees its nationwide expansion, which could possibly translate into a $20m+ weekend take.
     'Black Mass' dropped 59% to gross $1.3 million, most likely due to it losing 1,002 theaters. The $53-million crime film grossed $60.2 million so far, and $63 million is still likely.
     The Top 12 this weekend grossed $111.6 million, which is up just 1.4% from last weekend, but is down 8.1% from last year when 'Fury' took the top spot from 'Gone Girl'.
     Next weekend sees the nationwide releases of the musical 'Jem and the Holograms', the fantasy action pic 'The Last Witch Hunter', the low-budget horror 'Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension', the R-rated comedy 'Rock the Kasbah', and the nationwide expansion of the critically acclaimed biopic 'Steve Jobs'.