Weekend Box Office: The Martian Reaches for a Record

There was essentially no doubt that The Martian would be the top-grossing movie of the weekend, and there is not going to be any unexpected event in that area. The film instead is competing, at this point, with a movie that isn't even playing in theaters this weekend.

The space adventure-thriller starring Matt Damon opened strong on Friday, and it's on a pace to earn about $53 million dollars for the entire weekend. That's a lot of money, but it's not quite enough to take the record for the most lucrative October opening of all time. That record was set by Gravity, when it earned $55.8 million in its opening weekend in October 2013. The Martian's Friday take of $18 million was a little better than Gravity's $17.5 million, though, and with just a little bump beyond estimates, The Martian could become the biggest October film ever.

The Walk, a drama spectacle about a tightrope walker, is not in contention for that title. It opened only in IMAX theaters this weekend before going into wide release next week, a strategy tried a few weeks ago by Everest. The Walk, however, is only going to earn about $1.3 million in its limited release, as compared to Everest's $7.2 million.

Drug-cartel thriller Sicario went into wide release this weekend after a couple of weeks of limited release, and the results were respectable. The film is on course to earn about $11.5 million for the weekend and will likely place in the top five.