'The Martian': How it scored a big box office debut
'The Martian' stars Matt Damon as astronaut Mark Watney, who becomes stranded on Mars. The critical and box office success of 'Martian' echoes that of recent sci-fi movies 'Interstellar' and 'Gravity.'
'The Martian' stars Matt Damon.
Aidan Monaghan/20th Century Fox/AP
The film 鈥淭he Martian鈥� opened to big numbers this past weekend at the domestic box office, becoming the newest science-fiction film to score at the fall box office.
鈥淢artian,鈥� directed by Ridley Scott, is adapted from the novel of the same name by Andy Weir and centers on Mark Watney (Matt Damon), an astronaut who is left for dead by his crewmates as they depart Mars. Mark tries to survive as officials on Earth try to bring him home.聽
The movie鈥檚 ensemble cast includes Jessica Chastain, Michael Pe帽a, Kate Mara, Jeff Daniels, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, Sean Bean, and Donald Glover.
鈥淢artian鈥� received positive reviews from critics and grossed $55 million at the domestic box office. That鈥檚 just below fellow sci-fi success 鈥淕ravity,鈥� which holds the record for the best October opening of all time with $55.8 million. "The Martian" received good notices when it premiered at festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival and its positive buzz continued when it hit theaters.
Director Alfonso Cuar贸n's聽鈥淕ravity,鈥� which centers on an engineer (Sandra Bullock) stranded in space, opened in almost the same space as 鈥淢artian鈥� in 2013, on Oct. 4. It topped the box office for multiple weeks, earning that record for the most money made in an opening weekend during October. It eventually became the sixth-highest-grossing movie of the year. Like 鈥淢artian,鈥� it was a critical success 鈥� it earned great reviews from critics and was considered a front-runner for the Best Picture Oscar, though it eventually lost out to 鈥�12 Years a Slave.鈥�
2014 sci-fi film 鈥淚nterstellar,鈥� directed by Christopher Nolan of the 鈥淒ark Knight鈥� series, found critical and popular success in the autumn, as well. The movie聽grossed more than $47 million in its debut weekend.聽
Time will tell if autumn is the right time for big-budget sci-fi, but it would not be a surprise to see at least one studio trying another brainy blockbuster next fall.聽