The Martian Dominated at the Weekend Box Office

Photo by Giles Keyte / Twentieth Century Fox

Matt Damon proved once again why he’s still one of Hollywood’s biggest draws as his sci-fi thriller The Martian dominated at the box office this weekend.

The Ridley Scott-directed film opened at No. 1 in North America to the tune of $55 million, nearly breaking the record for the highest-grossing October debut, which was set by Gravity in 2013 when it raked in $55.8 million. The Martian also had a strong opening overseas and grossed $45.2 million internationally.

Damon’s latest flick turned out to be his second-best big screen premiere as well. The Boston-bred actor’s largest opening weekend came in 2007 when The Bourne Ultimatum scored $69.3 million at the box office.

According to Variety, The Martian surprisingly outperformed analysts’ predictions that it would only rake in $45 million over the weekend. In addition to Damon’s star power, the film seems to have gotten a boost thanks to the plethora of 3D offerings, which made up 45 percent of all ticket sales.

Don’t expect this space adventure to slow down its momentum at the theaters anytime soon as The Martian currently has a score of 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Thanks to the strong opening weekend and positive reviews from critics, the film has become an early Oscar contender and may even earn Damon an Oscar nod for Best Actor.

However, the local star hasn’t been nominated for the award since his iconic role as Will Hunting in 1997’s Good Will Hunting. Damon did, however, win his one and only Academy Award that year for Best Screenplay, which he earned alongside his best bud Ben Affleck.

The last time Damon was up for an Oscar of any kind, though, was in 2009 when he was up for Best Supporting Actor in the Nelson Mandela sports drama Invictus.

Perhaps the Boston-bred actor will get another shot at a golden statute this awards season.