Box-Office Preview: 'The Martian' Set to Maroon 'Pan,' 'The Walk'

Ridley Scott's space epic is tipped to stay at No. 1 in its second weekend; Danny Boyle's biopic 'Steve Jobs' opens in Los Angeles and New York.

Joe Wright's big-budget Peter Pan origins tale Pan and Robert Zemeckis' The Walk are looking like no match for holdover The Martian, which could gross $30 million or more in its second outing to easily stay atop the North American box office.

The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, scored the second-best October opening of all time last weekend with $54.3 million. Through Tuesday, it has earned north of $64 million domestically.

The forecast is bleak for Pan, and it could have trouble clearing $20 million from more than 3,350 theaters. Even $30 million would be problematic considering its budget.

Hoping to rival industry leader Disney in the live-action fairy tale space, Warner Bros. spent $150 million to make the film, starring Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard and Garrett Hedlund as a young James Hook. Newcomer Levi Miller stars in the titular role, while Amanda Seyfried plays Mary and Rooney Mara, Tiger Lily.

Pan is the first studio tentpole directed by Wright, known for Atonement, Hanna and Pride & Prejudice (2005).

The film — which has secured a China release date of Oct. 22 — hopes to make up ground overseas. It opens in half of the international marketplace over the Oct. 9-11 weekend, timed to school holidays, including in Germany, Russia, Korea, Brazil, Mexico and Spain. Among other major markets, Pan opens in the U.K. Oct. 16, followed by France on Oct. 21 and Japan on Oct. 31.

Robert Zemeckis' The Walk expands nationwide Friday into more than 2,500 locations after debuting to a muted $1.6 million last weekend in an exclusive Imax run, and could gross $5 million to $7 million for the weekend. The Walk, which opened midweek on Sept. 30, has grossed $2.4 million through Tuesday.

Sony — which believes the movie will have a long run — spent a modest $25 million to make The Walk, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as French artist Philippe Petit, who gained fame after he walked on a high wire between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.

The specialty box office sees the debut of Danny Boyle's high-profile Steve Jobs, starring Michael Fassbender as the Apple co-founder. The movie opens in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles.