It must be an exciting weekend for legendary director Ridley Scott. His latest film, the heavily hyped sci-fi movie "The Martian," has been met with positive reviews and considerable buzz. But does that mean it will be a box office hit?
According to Variety, industry insiders are predicting a $45 million opening for "The Martian." That's right around Matt Damon's other space pic "Interstellar" (though Damon obviously wasn't the star), which took in $47.5 million in its opening weekend.
Some believe word of mouth could push the film towards $50 million, but 20th Century Fox is remaining conservative with an estimate right around $40 million. "The Martian" had a not so insignificant budget of $109 million so making a profit is no guarantee. But a $45 million start would definitely put the film on the right trajectory.
Boding well for the film's box office performance is the fact that "The Martian" is at the top of Fandango's sales charts at the moment, and is even outperforming Academy Award-winner "Gravity." Interestingly enough, the two films share not only a survivor-in-space plot, but "Gravity" was actually released on the same weekend in 2013. The Sandra Bullock-led film went on to bank a worldwide total of $723 million.
Also helping the cause is a lack of competitors this weekend. Though Robert Zemeckis' "The Walk" is opening the same day, the studio behind that picture is focused on IMAX 3D theaters given the film's extreme tightrope walking story. Emily Blunt's "Sicario" has been generating plenty of buzz recently, but will open on 1,000 fewer screens than "The Martian's" 3,826 theater release.
"The Martian" may just be the film that breaks Scott out of the current funk he's in. His last two movies, "The Counselor" and "Exodus: Gods and Kings" have been critical and commercial flops. "Prometheus" failed to connect with audiences in the same way that "Alien" did (though Scott is planning multiple sequels) and "Robin Hood" became one big 'ol punchline after its release. "The Martian" appears to be Scott's slump-buster.
