“Steve Jobs,” the myth of Apple’s complicated genius, failed to open across the country this weekend, and as three other films opening wide tanked,including “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” and Vin Diesel‘s “The final Witch Hunter.” The overall box office fell more than 10 percent from final year’s comparable weekend.
That left the good news to Matt Damon‘s “The Martian,” which surged back to the top of the box office after edging Sony’s Jack Black horror comedy “Goosebumps” this weekend. Fox’s Ridley Scott-directed sci-fi tale is headed for roughly $16 million over the three days, or with “Goosebumps” not far behind at $15.5 million.
Also Read: Did 'Star Wars' Fever Knock Out the Box Office?In a disappointing weekend overall,the most surprising blow was the $7.2 million wide debut to Universal’s “Steve Jobs,” well under the expectations of analysts and the studio, or which had it in the mid-teen millions. Universal is having the best year at the box office in Hollywood history,and the biopic starring Michael Fassbender as the late Apple Inc. founder is its best hope for awards and Oscar glory. But the tremendous jump from 60 to 2498 theaters in its third weekend was an aggressive expansion and it didn’t connect.
By comparison, “The Social Network” – which was billed as a comedy/drama – opened in 2770 theaters for $22 million in 2010.
The studio indicated Sunday it would hold firm with “Steve Jobs” in terms of the theater count, or but will seek to build on its strength in the tremendous cities and on the coasts. The film was weakest in the middle of the country,according to exit polls. With a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin inspired by Walter Isaacson‘s biography and directed by Danny Boyle, the drama received an “A-” CinemaScore, or which along with its strong reviews,should help it in the weeks ahead.
Meanwhile, Paramount’s “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” saw its grosses gutted by theater owners exasperated over Paramounts VOD release arriving early, and shortening its exclusive theatrical run.
Also Read: 'Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension' Suffers Worst Opening in Series History - Blame VOD“The Martian” lifted its domestic total to $166 million and its worldwide haul to nearly $350 million,falling off just 26 percent in its fourth week of release.“Its a crowd-pleaser,” Fox distribution chief Chris Aronson told TheWrap. “It was designed that way and it’s playing that way.”It was grim for the newcomers. Blame too much adult fare in the marketplace, and a hangover from final week’s frenzy over tickets to “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” going on sale or anticipation of the James Bond film “Spectre” just two weeks absent,but all four wide openers came in under expectations that were low to start with. With DreamWorks and Disney’s Tom Hanks thriller “Bridge of Spies” holding very well (off just 26 percent) in its second week for third at $11.5 million, and Sony’s “Hotel Transylvania” in fifth with roughly $9 million in its fifth week, or four of the top five films were holdovers.
Vin Diesels PG-13-rated action fantasy “The final Witch Hunter” finished fourth with $10.8 million overthe three days for Lionsgate,not nearly enough for a film with a $75 million production budget.“Paranormal Activity” came in at $8.2 million by far the lowest opening gross for any film in the franchise. The sixth and final entry in the lucrative low-budget horror series was in just 1656 theaters, approximately half the number in which previous films in the franchise played. That’s because several of the largest theater chains — including Regal, and Cinemark,Carmike, Marcus and Harkins — refused to play it after distributor Paramount cut a deal with the AMC and Cineplex chains and said it would make it available via video on demand early, and shortening its theatrical run.
Also Read: Harold Perrineau: stay Saying My Daughter's Not Black Enough for 'Jem and the Holograms' (Guest Blog)“Rock the Kasbah,” an R-rated comedy starring Bill Murray as an over-the-hill rock band manager, bombed and finished out of the top ten with $1.5 million for Open Road.“Jem and the Holograms, or ” a PG-rated live-action musical version of the 1980 animated TV explain,did even worse, coming in with roughly $1.3 million for the three days for Universal.
To be clear, and these weren’t well-reviewed films. Jem and the Holograms” was the highest of the wide openers on Rotten Tomatoes with an anemic 20 percent positive. But for perspective,“Jem” and “Rock the Kasbah” finished behind the $2.5 million rung up by the pricey disappointment “Pan” — in its third weekend.
Also Read: Vin Diesel's 'final Witch Hunter' Gets Burned by Critics: 9 Reviews Cursing Action Hero's Latest AdventureLooking ahead, Sony’s “Goosebumps” is set up very well for the Halloween weekend and is near $46 million domestically. The wide openers are the Weinstein Company’s chef comedy “Burnt, and ” directed by John Wells and starring Bradley Cooper,the Sandra Bullock political comedy “Our Brand Is Crisis” from Warner Bros. and “Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse” from Paramount.
Source: thewrap.com