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APEX Hollywood Shortlist: The Martian Out Trick-or-Treats a Trio of Newcomers to Hold Onto Number One With an Estimated $11.4M

November 2, 2015  | Written by Tomas Romero

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APEX Insight: Weekend B.O. results were more trick than treat as Halloween holdovers like The Martian, Goosebumps and Hotel Transylvania 2 scared away two star-studded newcomers and a trio of zombie-hunting boy scouts.

Historically speaking, Halloween weekend is usually something of a bust at the box office and this past weekend was no exception. In the slowest weekend of the year so far, Ridley Scott’s sci-fi sudser The Martian took the top spot for the fourth time in five weeks, with an estimated $11.4M for a total domestic haul of $182.2M.

Despite the fact that this is the second weekend in a row where no new title has opened higher than fourth place, it wasn’t all rotten eggs and Halloween tricks at the box office – especially for fans of beautifully-shot food porn and Bradley Cooper.

The Oscar nominee’s second big release of 2015 (after this summer’s rom-com wipeout Aloha), Burnt, opened in fifth place with an estimated $5M. And though that might sound low for a title starring Cooper and three of the most buzzed-about young actresses of the year – Sienna Miller, Alicia Vikander and Lily James – viewers should think twice before totally scratching this one off the menu. Cooper and Miller’s last film together was a little movie called American Sniper, which started at a slow boil and eventually cooked up four Oscar nominations (and one win for Best Sound Editing), and a worldwide haul of $547.4M. So though it might be tempting to ask for the check and call it a day, the second course here might just surprise you.

Also opening wide in eighth place with an estimated $3.4M was the political satire Our Brand is Crisis from Pineapple Express and George Washington helmer David Gordon Green. Starring Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and Billy Bob Thornton, expectations were high for the hard-charging Crisis from the get-go. Though the film didn’t place anywhere near where the pollsters had hoped, Bullock’s political clout at the box office could definitely turn things around for the film – especially if Crisis manages to garner some much-needed award-season heat in the next few weeks. In other words, this race (not unlike the one depicted in the film), is far from over. So, stay tuned!

And though it just missed collecting its box office top ten badge by a hair, the comedy-horror hybrid Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse held its own on a sleepy holiday weekend with an estimated $1.7M. Directed by Christopher Landon, who should know a few things about scary movies after penning four of the last six Paranormal Activity films, Scouts Guide is expected to perform even better on the streaming market where it is set to debut roughly two weeks after its theatrical footprint drops to less than 300 screens. Thanks to Paramount’s experimental shortened-window release strategy, if you really wanna see some killer scout on zombie action on the big screen, you’d better get to stepping!

Weekend Box Office Estimates: October 30 – November 1, 2015