Steve’s Box Office Report: October 2015
Top 10 Films for the Month of October:
1. The Martian – $228,443,663
2. Goosebumps – $80,080,379
3. Bridge of Spies – $72,313,754
4. Pan – $35,088,320
5. Crimson Peak – $31,090,320
6. The Last Witch Hunter – $27,367,660
7. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension – $18,300,124
8. Steve Jobs – $17,766,658
9. Woodlawn – $14,394,097
10. Burnt – $13,651,946
Honorable Mentions:
1. The Walk – $10,137,052
2. Our Brand is Crisis – $7,002,261
3. Suffragette – $4,702,420
4. Rock the Kasbah – $3,020,664
5. Jem and the Holograms – $2,184,640
October Winners: The Martian, Goosebumps, and Bridge of Spies
We continue on through the year of 2025 and we now hit the month of October as we are closing in on the end of the year, and unlike the last few years this month has quite a few big films that have some potential. While there were some horror films released this month, it seemed like horror was taking a back seat to other genres which did a lot better which is interesting given October is the month of Halloween. The first film that makes it into this category is the sci-fi film the Martian, based on the novel of the same name of an astronaut who is left behind on Mars and tries to survive while NASA works to save him. The film would receive positive reviews from critics with many considering it one of the best of the year, and it would finish with over $228 million which I will delve into later in the recap. The next film that makes it into this category is the horror comedy film Goosebumps, inspired by the book series of the same name which sees the author R.L. Stein help his new neighbors fight off monsters. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was a good tribute to the series, and it would finish with over $80 million which was a strong showing and could potentially see a franchise come out of it. The last film that makes it into this category is the historical drama Bridge of Spies, based on the story of lawyer James B. Donovan who is brought in to negotiate a hostage exchange between a U.S. spy and a Russian spy. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who also considered this one of the best of the year, and it would finish with over $72 million which was a strong showing for a major award contender. While there were only three films that made it into this category, these three pretty much carried the month by being the top 3 for the month and we will see if it’s enough to pull the month up.
October Losers: Pan, Crimson Peak, the Last Witch Hunter, the Walk, and Our Brand is Crisis
Looking at the list of films that were released this month, there was potential for a bunch of them to do well, but there was also a possibility that the majority of them would probably underperform and not do well at all. After the last few months of having barely any films make it into this category or sometimes none at all, we have a bunch of films make it into this category for this month. The first film that makes it into this category is the fantasy film Pan, a prequel/reboot which sees the boy who would become Peter Pan brought to Neverland for the first time as he teams up with James Hook to fight Blackbeard the Pirate. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it was a poor film that over-relied on special effects, and it would finish with over $35 million which led to it being of the biggest bombs of the year. The next film that makes it into this category is the gothic romance film Crimson Peak, a film about an author and her family who move into a house that is believed to be haunted. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt it was one of the better horror films of the year, but it would finish with over $31 million which was a major disappointment despite being released in October. The next film that makes it into this category is the fantasy action film the Last Witch Hunter, a film about a witch hunter who must stop a plague from ravaging the world. The film would receive negative reviews from critics who felt it was too bland for a fantasy film, and it would finish with over $27 million which was a poor showing though there are rumors a sequel is in the works. The next film that makes it into this category is the biographical film the Walk, based on the story of high wire artist Philippe Petit and his walk across the World Trade Center Towers in 1974. The film would receive positive reviews from critics who felt the film was carried well by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but it would only finish with over $10 million which was a poor showing and couldn’t even get the film in the top 10 for the month. The last film that makes it into this category is the comedy drama film Our Brand is Crisis, based on the 2005 documentary of the same name of American political strategists who get involved in the 2002 Bolivian presidential election. The film would receive mixed reviews from critics who praised Sandra Bullock’s performance, but the film would finish with over $7 million which made one of the bigger disappointments of the year. After the last few months where this category wasn’t a major factor, this month has this category be a potential big factor into how well or how poorly the month ends up being.
The Surprise/Story of October 2015: “The Martian” makes landfall and dominates October 2015
Looking at the slate of films released this month, horror was a dominant force as it should be given that October is the month of Halloween, but as we’ve seen over the last few years, other genres have managed to do well during this month. One genre that you wouldn’t think would do well is sci-fi unless it’s attached to horror, but this month sees a sci-fi film completely dominate which is of course the Martian, and it utterly dominates with its large take of money and it easily takes the top spot of the month. While there were some horror films that did well with two of them making it into the top 5, it has become clear that the month of October is no longer defined by the horror genre. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the decade plays out and if the trend holds or if horror can retake the month, but there is no question that horror takes a back seat this month to sci-fi and a few other genres.
Overachiever of October 2015: The Martian
Going into this month, the Martian had a lot of intrigue behind it given that it was pretty much a one-man performance by Matt Damon though the film wasn’t entirely carried by him, and the idea of an astronaut surviving on Mars was a pretty solid idea given how Mars has been seen as a future settlement for humanity in real life. It almost had a similar feel to the film Gravity which came out two years ago and much like that film was the overachiever of October 2013, the Martian easily takes the title of overachiever of October 2015. Carried by the strong reviews from critics and being a top award contender for the year, there is no question that this film deserves to receive this award which is buoyed by the fact that the film made well over $200 million which is still pretty unheard of for the month of October. We will see how the film stacks up to the other overachievers of the year, but there is no question that this film deserves to be the overachiever of the month.
Underachiever of October 2015: Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
Back in October 2009, the first Paranormal Activity came out and it was a refreshing film as the found footage genre was still hot and it was a welcome relief to the Saw franchise which had become stale at that point. It would end up spawning a franchise and now we get the 6th installment in it here with the Ghost Dimension, which sees a family tormented by spirits that have ties to Katie and Kristi Featherson. Unfortunately much like Saw, this franchise has now suffered from fatigue as this film received negative reviews from critics, and it would only finish with over $18 million which makes it the lowest grossing film in the franchise and it falls behind other horror films from this month. As a result, it seems like it was time for this franchise to be put out to pasture and we will see if we get any more films though it appears it won’t be as quickly as we have seen from this franchise, and there is no question that this film deserves to be the underachiever of the month which brings it full circle as the very first film had been the overachiever of October 2009.
October 2015 Awards Watch: The Martian, Bridge of Spies, Pan, and Steve Jobs
As I’ve mentioned on numerous occasions, October is typically where the award season begins as this month usually sees quite a number of contenders come out before all the bigger ones come out at the end of the year. October can sometimes have only a few contenders come out or perhaps none at all, but this year we see quite a good number of films make it into this category. The first film that makes it into this category is the Martian which was nominated for 7 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects) though surprisingly it wouldn’t win any. The film would end up winning two Golden Globe Awards (Best Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor – Musical or Comedy) while being nominated for one more (Best Director), and it just secures its place as one of the best films of the year. The next film that makes it into this category is Bridge of Spies which would win one Academy Award (Best Supporting Actor) while being nominated for 5 more (Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, and Best Sound Mixing). The film would also be nominated for one Golden Globe Award (Best Supporting Actor) which it didn’t win, but again it solidifies its place as one of the top films of the year. The next film that makes it into this category is Pan which would be nominated for one Golden Raspberry Award (Worst Supporting Actress twice) though it wouldn’t win as there were other films worse, and the last film that makes it into this category is the biographical film Steve Jobs, a film based on the life of the Apple Inc. co-founder as he oversees several new releases while dealing with personal issues. The film would receive positive reviews from critics though it would finish with just over $17 million which was a bit disappointing, and it would earn 2 Academy Award nominations (Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress) which it didn’t win and it would win 2 Golden Globe Awards (Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay) while being nominated for 2 more (Best Actor – Drama and Best Original Score). Even though there were only 4 films that made it into this category, the fact that two of them got a bunch of nominations helps this month be memorable because of that.
Overall Thoughts of October 2015:
Overall, the month of October 2015 was a pretty decent month though it is a step back from where we were coming out of the summer. In the past few years, it is September that blunts some of the momentum from the summer and October turns it around going into the holiday season, but this year it is the opposite as September was pretty solid and October falters a bit. Having said that, we did have one film from this month make over $200 million which is rare for October, but the rest of the films were pretty standard though we did have a few that were either disappointments or bombs which hurt the month. 2015 has been a strong year to this point and even though this month was a bit of a downer, the holiday season is looking very strong and should end the year on a high note. As for the month of October 2015, it is a decent month and might be one of the worst of this year though it could be a highlight for some years prior.
Final Grade: C
