|
 "Our Brand is Crisis," a political satire about a spin-doctor
navigating a Latin American presidential election, is the worst
wide release opening of Bullock's career, sliding in below
1996's "Two If By Sea" with $4.7 million. It debuted to a
dreadful $3.4 million across 2,202 locations. Warner Bros.
distributed the $28 million production.
"We're proud of the movie, we had higher expectations, and we're
obviously disappointed," said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.
distribution executive vice president.
Not that Cooper fared much better playing a down-and-out chef
trying to score a comeback. "Burnt" made a meagre $5 million
bowing across 2,900 theaters. The Weinstein Company distributed
the critically scorched dramedy. It cost roughly $20 million to
make and was directed by John Wells ("August: Osage County")
"It's a small film and we didn't spend a ton of money on it, but
we were obviously hoping for more," said Erik Lomis, the
Weinstein Company's distribution chief. "We love Bradley and he
worked so hard on it with John Wells. It's a passion project
that hit a tough weekend."
It wasn't just star power at play. Both films debuted on
Halloween weekend that fell at a particularly rough time on the
calendar. The holiday happened to take place on Saturday,
traditionally the busiest day for movie-going, so studios were
bracing for a weekend that offered up more trick than treat.
Their worst fears were realized. Overall ticket sales fell below
$75 million, the worst results of the year. The weakness of "Our
Brand is Crisis" and "Burnt" enabled a group of holdovers to
maintain their grip on the top spots at the box office.
"The Martian" captured first place with $11.4 million. The Fox
adventure story is on pace to be the biggest domestic grossing
release of Ridley Scott's career, having made $182.8 million
since debuting in October.
Second and third positions went to Sony's "Goosebumps" and
Dreamworks' "Bridge of Spies" with $9.8 million and $8.1
million, respectively. "Goosebumps" has made roughly $57 million
in three weeks, while "Bridge of Spies" has been one of the only
adult dramas to connect, earning $45.2 million over the same
period.
The top five was rounded out by Sony's Hotel Transylvania 2"
with $5.6 million and Lionsgate's "The Last Witch Hunter" with
$4.7 million. The pictures have made $155.7 million and $18.6
million domestically.
[to top of second column] |
"Steve Jobs," the Universal drama about the Apple founder, sank in
its second weekend of wide release. The picture earned $2.6 million,
a 65% fall, bringing its domestic total to $14.5 million.
It was also a bad weekend for distribution experiments. Paramount's
"Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse" was brutalized when it
kicked off to roughly $1.7 million across 1,509 locations.
Its failure comes on the heels of last weekend's "Paranormal
Activity: The Ghost Dimension." Both pictures are part of an
experiment that allows Paramount to debut the films digitally 17
days after it leaves most theaters in return for cutting exhibitors
like AMC in on a cut of the home entertainment revenue. Usually they
have to wait 90 days between a picture's theatrical debut and its
digital launch. The problem is that many chains refused to show the
pictures, believing that they set a dangerous precedent and
threatened their theatrical exclusivity. "Scouts Guide" cost roughly
$15 million to produce.
In its second weekend, the "Paranormal Activity" sequel fell 58% to
$3.4 million, bringing its total to $13.6 million.
"Truth," a drama about "60 Minutes" controversial report on George
W. Bush's National Guard service, stumbled in its wide release
expansion. The Sony Pictures Classics' release moved from 18 screens
to 1,120 venues, earning a dispiriting $900,914 in the process. Its
total stands at $1.1 million.
The failure of "Our Brand is Crisis" contributes to an annus
horribilis for Warner Bros. The studio scored hits with "San
Andreas" and "American Sniper," but has lost tens of millions on the
likes of "Pan," "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.," and "Jupiter Ascending."
It is hoping next year, which offers up "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of
Justice" and the Harry Potter spin-off, "Fantastic Beasts and Where
to Find Them," can help the studio rebound.
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
