Last weekend, Ridley Scott's The Martian actually climbed up the box office charts in both the US and UK, becoming the most durable hit of the autumn. In America, the film reclaimed the top spot by knocking Goosebumps into second place. And pundits are saying Matt Damon should have no trouble fending off challenges this weekend from Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper. 

Matt Damon in The MartianMatt Damon's The Martian is smashing box office numbers

In the UK, The Martian will relinquish its crown to Spectre, but the film has taken nearly $400 million at the box office over the past month. And in America, it looks set to carry yet another weekend, as its main competitors have both had mediocre reviews. Sandra Bullock's political comedy Our Brand Is Crisis isn't expected to do as well as her higher profile hits like Gravity and The Heat, while Bradley Cooper'a cooking comedy Burnt comes in the wake of his lacklustre rom-com Aloha.

Watch the trailer for 'The Martian' here:



Things haven't gone quite so well for several other big-name movies in recent weeks. So far, The Martian has soared while others have crashed and burned, including high-profile projects like Hugh Jackman in Pan, Vin Diesel in The Last Witch Hunter, Michael Fassbender in Steve Jobs and Bill Murray in Rock the Kasbah.

More: Watch an interview with Matt Damon on 'The Martian'

Then next week, of course, it will be Spectre's turn to win the top spot in the US, although it will have a very different kind of competition from The Peanuts Movie. In the UK, the James Bond adventure will have had nearly two weeks of dominance, and doesn't look likely to slow down until The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 arrives on 20th November.