"The Martian" stays strong

Writer: Florey DM

"The Martian" is still No.1 in the U.S. and S'pore.

13 Oct – "The Martian" stays strong and continues its reign on the weekend box office for 8 to 11 October 2015.

The Matt-Damon starrer took number one at the U.S. and Singapore charts again but was pushed to number two by newcomer "Pan" in Malaysia.

"The Martian" took in another USD37 million in the U.S. last weekend, contributing to its now USD227.2 million worldwide gross, based on Box Office Mojo stats.

Following closely behind at number two is still "Hotel Transylvania 2" with its USD20.4 million weekend gross. So far, the animated movie starring Adam Sandler as the voice of Drac has managed to rake in USD207.8 million worldwide.

At number three is new release "Pan". Despite placing in the top three, the fantasy movie is not showing any promise as the next big thing, managing to collect only USD15.3 million on its opening weekend in the U.S. The origin story starring Hugh Jackman, Garrett Hedlund, Rooney Mara, Amanda Seyfried and newcomer Levi Miller, currently has grossed only USD40.5 million worldwide, against its USD150 million production budget.

"Pan" is headed for a bleak future.

However, "Pan" found a glimmer of hope in Malaysia as it opened at the number one spot, forcing "The Martian" down to number two. Staying put at number three is "Polis Evo", the Malay action movie which is currently the second highest-grossing local movie of all time in Malaysia, having grossed RM13 million in just three weeks of showing.

Ridley Scott's adaptation of Andy Weir's same name 2011 novel – "The Martian", of course – still took number one in Singapore. "Pan" too didn't do so shabbily as it managed to open at number two. "Hotel Transylvania 2" did not budge after sinking its fangs into the number three spot.

New movies that also opened in Malaysia last weekend are "Knock Knock", "Are You Here?", "Rembat", "Regression", "Jazbaa", "Heart Attack", "Maravan", "Masala Padam" and "Asterix: The Mansions Of The Gods".

Other new releases in Singapore for last weekend include "Jazbaa", "Boulevard", "Rudramadevi", "Pay the Ghost", "Straight Outta Compton", "Hero" and "Boruto: Naruto The Movie".