Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEW YORK (AP) — Ridley Scott's 3-D space epic "The Martian" touched down in theaters with a robust $55 million at the weekend box office.
The 20th Century Fox release, starring Matt Damon as an astronaut left for dead on Mars, proved moviegoers remain drawn by the gravitational pull of space adventures. The estimated North American opening of "The Martian" surpassed that of Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" and virtually equaled the debut of Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity."
Last week's box-office champ, "Hotel Transylvania 2," slid to second with an estimated $33 million.
Denis Villeneuve's drug war thriller "Sicario," starring Emily Blunt, shot up to third with $12.1 million for the acclaimed Lionsgate release.
Ahead of a wider opening next week, Robert Zemeckis' 3-D "The Walk" opened on 448 Imax screens but took in only $1.5 million.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.