Ridley Scott's sci-fi movie, which stars Matt Damon and Jessica Chastain, took $55m in its opening weekend.
Elsewhere, Hotel Transylvania 2 is down to two with $33m and Emily Blunt's Sicario rises seven places to third with $12m.
The Intern is at four with $11.6m, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials is at five with $7.6m and Black Mass is at six with $5.9m.
Meanwhile, Everest is at seven with $5.5m and M. Night Shyamalan's The Visit is at eight with $3.9m.
Finally, War Room is at nine with $2.8m and The Perfect Guy rounds out the top ten with $2.4m.
The US weekend box office top 10 for October 2-4 is as follows: 1. (-) The Martian - $55,000,000 2. (1) Hotel Transylvania 2 - $33,000,000 3. (10) Sicario - $12,075,000 4. (2) The Intern - $11,620,000 5. (3) Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials - $7,650,000 6. (5) Black Mass - $5,905,000 7. (4) Everest - $5,510,000 8. (6) The Visit - $3,950,000 9. (8) War Room - $2,800,000 10. (7) The Perfect Guy - $2,400,000