Last weekend, 20th Century Fox’s blockbusterThe Martianreturned to take the top spot at the box office, fending off four new releases, which all underperformed. This gave the thriller its thirdwinin four weeks. On Friday, the sci-fi drama faces off against three more new movies, The Weinstein Company’sBurnt, Warner Bros.‘Our Brand Is Crisisand Paramount’sScouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, just one day before Halloween. Like last weekend’s crop of new releases, the projections atBoxOffice.comreveal these latest titles will all underperform as well, withThe Martianlikely taking the top spot once again.
The Martianhas earned $166.1 million since its release on October 2, debuting at $54.3 million. While that isn’t an astronomical opening weekend by any means, it continues to post minimal decreases in each frame, dropping just 31.9% in its second weekend, 42.4% in its third frame (where it took second place toGoosebumps) and 26.1% last weekend. With no surefire blockbuster to compete with this weekend,The Martianshould have no trouble winning yet again with roughly $10 million.
Ridley Scott’ssci-fidrama has been winning over critics ever since its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this month, with some even calling it the best movie of the year, so far. The film follows the quest to save an astronaut stranded on Mars. We still have a long way to go until the awards season races truly start to heat up, butThe Martianhas emerged as one of the top front runners. With an all-star cast includingMatt Damon,Jessica Chastain,Kristen Wiig,Kate Mara,Sebastian Stan,Sean Bean,Michael Peña,Chiwetel EjioforandJeff Daniels.
Burntshould come in second place with an estimated $9 million, according to projections. The dramatic comedy starringBradley Cooperas a chef seeking redemption opens in approximately 2,400 theaters, still far below the 3,504 theaters thatThe Martianis playing in. Part of the reason none of these new films have been able to compete is that they just aren’t being put in enough theaters, and it also doesn’t help matters that none of these new contenders have the critical acclaim thatThe Martianhas.Burntcurrently has a 40% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, withOur Brand Is Crisisat 42%, althoughScouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypsedoesn’t have enough reviews to qualify for a TomatoMeter score yet. Still,Burnt’s projections are rather close toThe Martian, and a mild upset is possible, if it manages to overperform.
Burntfollows Chef Adam Jones (Bradley Cooper), who had it all - and lost it. A two-star Michelin rockstar with the bad habits to match, the former enfant terrible of the Paris restaurant scene did everything different every time out, and only ever cared about the thrill of creating explosions of taste. To land his own kitchen and that third elusive Michelin star though, he’ll need the best of the best on his side, including the beautiful Helene (Sienna Miller).Burntis a remarkably funny and emotional story about the love of food, the love between two people, and the power of second chances. The supporting cast includesOmar Sy,Sam Keeley,Jamie Dornan, fresh off his performance inFifty Shades of Grey,Daniel Brühl, Riccardo Scamarcio andUma Thurman. It doesn’t seem that even this all-star cast can helpBurntget over the $10 million opening weekend mark, but we will have to wait and see when the estimates come in this Sunday.
Our Brand Is Crisisis projected to take the fourth spot with $7 million, behindGoosebumpsin third place with $8.8 million, withBridge of Spiesrounding out the top 5 with $6.3 million.Our Brand Is Crisisfeatures an all-star cast lead bySandra Bullock), along withBilly Bob Thornton,Anthony Mackie,Zoe Kazan,Scoot McNairyandAnn Dowd. The story centers on “Calamity” Jane Bodine (Sandra Bullock, who is coaxed out of self-imposed retirement for the chance to beat her professional nemesis, the loathsome Pat Candy (Billy Bob Thornton), now coaching the opposition.
Rounding out the top 10 will beScouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse($5 million),The Last Witch Hunter($4.6 million),Hotel Transylvania 2($4.1 million),Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension($3.7 million) andSteve Jobs($3.4 million).Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypsefeatures rising starsTye Sheridanand Logan Miller as two Boy Scouts, who team up with a cocktail waitress (Halston Sage) when their town has been overrun by zombies. Sarah Dumont,David Koechner,Cloris LeachmanandPatrick Schwarzeneggerround out the supporting cast. After putting up incredible numbers in limited release,Steve Jobshas faltered since opening nationwide, and it may not even take in $10 million during its entire theatrical run. Opening in limited release this weekend are The Armor of Light, Carter High,Freaks of Nature, Heneral Luna,Love, Sex, Death and Bowling and The Wonders.
Looking ahead to next weekend, Sony Pictures’ new 007 adventureSpectrehits theaters alongside 20th Century Fox’sThe Peanuts Movieand Clarius Entertainment’s The Outskirts. Opening in limited release are two possible Oscar candidates,Trumbo, starringBryan Cranston, andSpotlight, starringRachel McAdamsandMark Ruffalo. Also arriving in limited release isEntertainment,Miss You Already, Theeb andBrooklyn. Be sure to check back on Sunday for the box office estimates, and again next Tuesday for next week’s projections. Until then, here’s our predictions for the top 10 this weekend.
