Weekend Wrap-Up: Box Office Celebrates Double-Milestone on Top

October 13, 2015

The Martian

There was some great news at the box office this weekend, as both The Martian and Hotel Transylvania 2 reached the century mark. On the other hand, Pan bombed performing even worse than expected. I don't think there's really any controversy in saying it bombed, as the $150 million movie opened with less than Alexander and the Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day made last year. The overall depth was also weak, which led to the box office falling 21% from last week and 20% from last year. 2015 is still way ahead of 2014, $8.30 billion to $7.87 billion, and it would take a serious collapse for that lead to evaporate before the end of the year.

The Martian remained in first place with $37.01 million over the weekend for a total of $108.72 million after just ten days of release. The film became the 21st film of the year, and the second film of the weekend, to reach the century mark. Its sophomore stint decline was just 32%, which shows the reviews are helping its box office numbers. At this pace, $200 million is certainly within reach, although its reign on top of the box office will likely end this weekend.

Hotel Transylvania 2 came within a rounding error of expectations with $20.42 million over the weekend for a total of $116.94 million after three weeks of release. The film remains ahead of its predecessor, both in terms of its weekend totals and its running tally. If this keeps up, it will finish with $170 million. This is amazing, as most analysts thought the film wouldn't match the original movie.

Pan failed to live up to low expectations with just $15.32 million during its opening weekend. This is less than Alexander and the Overly Long Name opened with. It has a production budget that is more than five times greater than Alexander's production budget. That's devastating. Additionally, the reviews are awful down to just 24% positive. Unless this film does a whole lot better internationally, and I see no evidence it will, Warner Bros. will lose a fortune on the film.

On a side note, Warner Bros. isn't the only studio upset over this result. How could a film like Pan get a weekend practically to itself? Crimson Peak or The Last Witch Hunter could have done well this weekend, instead of dealing with more competition during the next couple of weeks.

The Intern earned fourth place with $8.68 million over the weekend for a total of $49.59 million after three weeks of release. It has already earned more money than it cost to make, while it is on pace for at least $60 million. If it can just match this figure internationally, it will break even early in its home market run. It has a shot at $75 million domestically and $100 million internationally. If it manages that feat, it will break even before it hits the home market.

Sicario landed in fifth place with $7.58 million over the weekend for a running tally of $26.94 million. This film reportedly cost $30 million to make, so it will match its production budget this weekend. Its road to profitability goes through Awards Season, but its reviews suggest that road with be a smoothly paved highway and not a bumpy backroad.

The less said about The Walk, the better. The film's expansion went poorly missing even our low expectations with just $3.72 million over the weekend for a total of $6.43 million after 12 days of release. I was expecting close to this during its opening weekend. This is one of the worst gaps between reviews and box office numbers that I've seen.

Filed under: Weekend Wrap-up, Hotel Transylvania 2, Crimson Peak, Pan, The Intern, The Martian, The Walk, Sicario