The Weekend Report

There were clear skies for The Martian with a debut estimated at $54.4 million. The only other launch in wide release was the expansion of the drug opus Sicario that scored third with $11.7 million. In limited wide release in IMAX, The Walk grossed a disappointing $1.5 million.

Among encouraging freshmen, teen Nobelist doc My Name is Malala petititioned $57,100 at four; Jafar Panahi’s third film while under Iranian sanction, Taxi, grossed $18,300 on two hails; gay rights drama Freeheld with $38,300 from five screens; and German Oscar submission Labyrinth of Lies took $20,500 at three sites.

In the niches, new Indian imports were soft, including Hindi sequel Singh is Bling with $457,000 and the Tamil Puli with a $234,000 tally. There was also an OK start of $311,000 for Filipino rom-om Etiquette for Mistresses. In Québec, political comedy Guibord s’en va-t-en guerre (My Internship in Canada) polled $36,400 from five stations.

Weekend revenues generated close to $150 million that expanded business 8% for seven days back and was an infinitesimal 0.2% behind the 2014 session. Twelve months earlier, debuts of Gone Girl and Annabelle led with respective openers of $37.5 million and $37.1 million.

Following a positively received New York Film Festival debut, The Martian was primed to orbit solid opening numbers. The scientifically plausible saga of an astronaut’s survival on the red planet while awaiting rescue was tracking at $50 million and could well exceed the October record of $55.7 million set two years earlier by distaff lost-in-spacer Gravity. Studio exit polls identified the audience as 56% male with 72% aged 25-years and older. The latest from 77-year-old Sir Ridley opened simultaneously in 49 international territories with an estimated $45 million. The UK alone grossed more than $10 million, with Australia at $4.2 million and Mexico adding $2.7 million to the cash box.

The slow rollout of Sicario appears to have worked well, with its first weekend in wide release coming out on the high side of tracking. It’s taken a similar approach internationally and banked roughly $5 million in its first two weeks. It also tilted slightly male at 55% and also attracted an older audience with 82% of viewers aged 25-years and older.

The Walk paled beside Everest’s strategy of opening initially in exclusive 3D and large format venues prior to its wide release. The tightrope tale previously essayed in the Oscar-winning documentary Man on Wire also jumped the weekend with a Wednesday launch that generated $422,000 in two days.

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