'The Martian' returns to number one as most Halloween films bomb

The weekend held great promise for several scary films, two of which The Wall Street Journal profiled in Halloween Movies 2015: 'Crimson Peak' and More.

Halloween cinema releases this year include Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Crimson Peak,’ and ‘The Last Witch Hunter’ starring Vin Diesel. Mark Kelly reports.

Unfortunately for the hype, both of them bombed, as Daily Variety reported via Reuters in Box Office Massacre: 'Last Witch Hunter,' 'Paranormal Activity 6' and 'Steve Jobs' Flop.

It was a pre-Halloween massacre at the multiplexes.

Four new films, including "Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension" and Vin Diesel's "The Last Witch Hunter," crowded into theaters this weekend and were swiftly pulverized and left for dead. Another, "Steve Jobs," expanded after a brisk limited run in a few key cities, only to be given the cold shoulder by the general public.

Their failures allowed a trio of holdovers -- "The Martian," "Goosebumps," and "Bridge of Spies" -- to retain the top three spots on the box office chart.

Congratulations to "The Martian" for being number one at the box office again.  Last week, "Goosebumps" was the top film, knocking off "The Martian" after two weeks on top.

As for the rest, "The Last Witch Hunter" was the only new release in the top five, coming in fourth ahead of "Hotel Transylvania 2."  "Paranormal Activity," which should have been a lock for Halloween as part of successful franchise, came in sixth, "Steve Jobs," which might still get some Oscar nominations for writing and acting, came in seventh, and "Crimson Peak," which might get some nominations for costumes and production design, came in eighth.  Honestly, it looked like a weekend where the teens stayed away from the theaters while adults and families with kids attended and not that many adults, as otherwise "Steve Jobs" might have had more viewers.

Despite the box office disappointments, last week was a good one for film topics.  I'm sure I'll see most of the new releases when they come to cable, although I might wait until they're free.  This week is another story.   The best film will be "Our Brand is Crisis."  After that, it's a sharp drop-off to "Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse."  That's a great title and concept, but I expect the film to be another dumb comedy.  I might pass on them and look ahead to Spectre, the next Bond film instead.  Stay tuned.