Ridley Scott's "The Martian" rocks weekend box office with $55M

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ridley Scott's astronaut movie "The Martian" rocked this weekend's box office, launching to an estimated $55 million from 3,831 theaters. The Matt Damon-starrer almost defeated "Gravity" to nab the biggest October opening of all time, AceShowbiz reports.

Although "The Martian" now has the second-biggest October opening of all time, there's still a chance that when final numbers come, it can top the record holder, "Gravity", which opened to $55.8 million in 2013. "Science is at the heart of 'The Martian' and is presented in a very accessible way," said Fox distribution chief Chris Aronson. "This movie has the potential to get people excited about our space program again."

Last weekend's champion, "Hotel Transylvania 2", was down 32 percent, earning approximately $33 million for a domestic total of $90.5 million. The Dracula animated movie still shone, placing number two in the chart.

This weekend's other new wide release, "Sicario", brought in around $12 million as it expanded from 59 to 2,620 theaters. The R-rated drug cartel action movie secured the third place, coming behind "The Martian" and "Hotel Transylvania 2".

Nancy Meyers' comedy movie, "The Intern", added another $11.6 million for a domestic total of $36.5 million in its second weekend. Meanwhile, the latest installment of "The Maze Runner" movie series, "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials", rounded out the top five with approximately $7.6 million for a domestic cume of $63.2 million.