By Leonard Klady Klady@moviecitynews.com
The Weekend Report
The Martian rose back to the top of weekend viewing with an estimated $15.9 million that was roughly $500k better than last frame’x leader Goosebumps.
The string of newcomers looked a lot like a late August onslaught. Best of the bunch was The Last Witch Hunter, with $10.7 million and fourth in the lineup. Also chilling was Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension at $8.1 million. The really big chill was encountered by Afghan war satire Rock the Kasbah and the TV-inspired musical Jem and the Holograms that opened respectively to $1.4 million and $1.3 million.
Exclusive debs were dominated with vote-getting Suffragette bringing out $74,300 at four locations. Room added 19 playdates and maintained a strong hold while Steve Jobs went wide and revealed its limitations.
Holidays in India also saw a raft of new entries. Top grossers included Hindi Shaanaar with $420,000 and Telugu Kanche, grossing $321,000. Also tepid was Filipino Must Date the Playboy with a $98,400 tally at 65 sites. In Canada, acclaimed drama Remember had an OK start of $92,300 from 35 mementos.
Session revenues were just shy of $110 million. The absence of strong new titles saw the marketplace ebb 14% from the prior weekend and erode 10% from the 2014 period. Twelve months earlier the opening salvos of Ouija and John Wick led with $19.9 million and $14.4 million openers.
Pundits had predicted The Last Witch Hunter to dominate the weekend with estimates in the range of $18 million to $20 million. Studio exit demos identified the crowd as evenly split among the sexes with 67% of the audience aged 25 and older.
In what’s been billed as the last chapter of the ridiculously successful Paranormal Activity franchise, The Ghost Dimension was also over-anticipated with expectations in the low teens. It also bowed internationally where it proved more potent with an estimated $18 million topped by a $2.3 million debut in Mexico. The domestic demos tilted 53% male with 51% of viewers aged 25-years and older. The film’s producer, Jason Blum, was also behind Jem and the Holograms that despite its ultra-low budget may wind up as his first box office failure.
Meanwhile the international marketplace is salivating over tomorrow’s launch of 007 in Spectre two weeks ahead of its American bow. It’s expected to rival the prior Skyfall in appeal, which wound up grossing more than $1 billion overseas.
| Weekend (estimates) October 23 – 25, 2015 | |||||
| Title | Distributor | Gross (avg) | % chng | Thtrs | Cume |
| The Martian | Fox | 15.9 (4,530) | -25% | 3504 | 166.3 |
| Goosebumps | Sony | 15.4 (4,410) | -35% | 3501 | 43.6 |
| Bridge of Spies | BV | 11.4 (4,070) | -26% | 2811 | 32.6 |
| The Last Witch Hunter | Lionsgate | 10.7 (3,480) | NEW | 3082 | 10.7 |
| Hotel Transylvania | Sony | 9.0 (2,840) | -29% | 3154 | 148.3 |
| Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension | Par | 8.1 (4,910) | NEW | 1656 | 8.1 |
| Steve Jobs | Uni | 7.3 (2,910) | 380% | 2493 | 10 |
| Crimson Peak | Uni | 5.5 (1,850) | -58% | 2991 | 22.4 |
| The Intern | WB | 3.9 (1,880) | -29% | 2061 | 64.7 |
| Sicario | Lionsgate | 2.9 (2,020) | -36% | 1448 | 39.4 |
| Woodlawn | Pure Flix | 2.5 (1,710) | -37% | 1475 | 7.9 |
| Pan | WB | 2.5 (1,300) | -57% | 1944 | 29.8 |
| Rock the Kasbah | Open Road | 1.4 (710) | NEW | 2012 | 1.4 |
| Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials | Fox | 1.4 (1,400) | -51% | 1008 | 77.7 |
| Jem and the Holograms | Uni | 1.3 (540) | NEW | 2413 | 1.3 |
| Black Mass | WB | .60 (1,300) | -53% | 458 | 61.3 |
| Everest | Uni | .55 (1,380) | -54% | 400 | 41.8 |
| The Visit | Uni | .54 (1,060) | -53% | 508 | 63.9 |
| War Room | Sony/Tricord | .51 (1,130) | -45% | 449 | 66.3 |
| Shaandaar | Fox Intl | .42 (3,070) | NEW | 136 | 0 |
| Kanche | Absolute | .32 (2,410) | NEW | 133 | 0.44 |
| The Perfect Guy | Sony | .29 (1,140) | -69% | 255 | 56.3 |
| Inside Out | BV | .27 (1,040) | -27% | 256 | 355.3 |
| Room | A24 | .25 (10,780) | 110% | 23 | 0.4 |
| Ant-Man | BV | .23 (1,180) | 209% | 192 | 179 |
| Weekend Total ($500,000+ Films) | $101.40 | ||||
| % Change (Last Year) | -10% | ||||
| % Change (Last Week) | -14% | ||||
| Also debuting/expanding | |||||
| Naanum Rowdy Dhaan | Prime Media | .18 (4,660) | 38 | 0.21 | |
| Shareek | White Hill | .14 (4,450) | 31 | 0.14 | |
| Goodbye Mr. Loser | China Lion | .13 (3,770) | -63% | 34 | 1.1 |
| Meet the Patels | Alchemy | .13 (1,560) | 1% | 82 | 1.3 |
| Truth | Sony Classics | .12 (6,460) | 75% | 18 | 0.21 |
| Must Date the Playboy | ABS | .10 (1,510) | 65 | 0.1 | |
| Remember | eOne | 92,300 (2,640) | 35 | 0.09 | |
| Labyrinth of Lies | Sony Classics | 91,800 (1,410) | 26% | 65 | 0.33 |
| Grandma | Sony Classics | 88,700 (870) | -30% | 102 | 6.6 |
| Suffragette | Focus | 74,300 (18,570) | 4 | 0.07 | |
| The Assassin | Well Go | 63,100 (3,050) | 32% | 21 | 0.13 |
| 10 Endrathukulla | ATMUS | 35,500 (520) | 68 | 0.04 | |
| Bone Tomahawk | Image Ent. | 23,100 (1,540) | 15 | 0.02 | |
| I Smile Back | Broad Green | 15,600 (7,800) | 2 | 0.02 | |
| Heart of a Dog | Abramorama | 12,700 (12,700) | 1 | 0.01 | |
| Nasty Baby | Orchard | 7,700 (2,570) | 3 | 0.01 | |
| Extraordinary Tales | Gkids | 7,000 (640) | 11 | 0.01 | |
| Anna | Seville | 6,500 (1,300) | 5 | 0.01 | |
| The Pearl Button | Kino | 5,600 (2,800) | 2 | 0.01 | |
| Domestic Market Share (January 1 – October 22, 2015) * | |||||
| Distributor (releases) | Box Office | Market Share | |||
| Universal (20) | 2316 | 26.30% | |||
| Buena Vista (13) | 1465.5 | 16.60% | |||
| Warner Bros. (26) | 1415.6 | 16.10% | |||
| 20th Century Fox (19) | 1003.9 | 11.40% | |||
| Sony (16) | 624.3 | 7.10% | |||
| Paramount (10) | 564.6 | 6.40% | |||
| Lionsgate (18) | 293.5 | 3.30% | |||
| Weinstein Co. (16) | 269.7 | 3.10% | |||
| Focus (11) | 114.4 | 1.30% | |||
| Fox Searchlight (8) | 97.3 | 1.10% | |||
| Relativity/Europa (7) | 85.9 | 1.00% | |||
| Sony Classics (21) | 59.1 | 0.65% | |||
| A24 (9) | 47.1 | 0.55% | |||
| Open Road (5) | 40.2 | 0.45% | |||
| STX (1) | 40.2 | 0.45% | |||
| Other * (316) | 365.3 | 4.20% | |||
| 8802.6 | 100% | ||||
| * none greater than 0.4% | |||||
