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 Warner Bros. spent $150 million to bring the Neverland
adventure to screens and millions more in marketing, but the
big-budget fantasy mustered a puny $15.5 million opening. That
debut puts "Pan" alongside "The Fantastic Four" and "Tomorrowland"
in the pantheon of the year's most punishing flops.
"It's a huge misfire," said Jeff Bock, box office analyst with
Exhibitor Relations, adding, "We won't see another Peter Pan
film for awhile."
"Pan's" backers weren't the only ones having a rough weekend.
Sony's "The Walk" stumbled in its wide release, expanding from
448 Imax and premium large format theaters to more than 2,500
locations, and eking out $3.6 million in the process. The biopic
about Philippe Petit's daring high-wire walk between the Twin
Towers cost $35 million to produce and has clear Oscar ambitions
for director Robert Zemeckis and the technical team behind the
film. It has made a paltry $6.4 million in its initial two
weeks. The Sony team seems discouraged that positive reviews for
the picture's innovative use of 3D and strong word-of-mouth
hasn't lifted "The Walk" higher.
"It's a conundrum why more folks didn't come out, because once
you see it, it's one of those films that you never forget," said
Rory Bruer, Sony's distribution chief. "It's a picture that
everybody put their heart and soul into."
With the new major studio releases teetering, Fox's "The
Martian" stabilized overall ticket sales. The space thriller
slipped a modest 32% in its second weekend, nabbing $37 million
and pushing its domestic total to $108.7 million. Sony's "Hotel
Transylvania 2" also showed impressive endurance, racking up
$20.3 million in its third weekend and bringing its stateside
haul to $116.8 million.
With "Pan" finishing in third place, the top five was rounded
out by Warner Bros.' "The Intern" and Lionsgate's "Sicario,"
which earned $8.7 million and $7.3 million, respectively. "The
Intern" has generated $49.6 million in receipts, while "Sicario's"
total stands at $26.7 million.
In limited release, Universal's "Steve Jobs" scored, pulling in
$521,000 across four theaters for a per-screen average of
$130,236. That ranks as the best theater average of the year,
and nicely positions the film about the Apple co-founder for its
wide release launch on Oct. 23.
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"This is a movie that's executed so well that you're not seeing a
biography of a man, so much as you're seeing a work of art," said
Nicholas Carpou, Universal's domestic distribution chief.
Bruised by poor reviews and the continued strength of "Hotel
Transylvania 2," "Pan" failed to deliver family crowds. Roughly 55%
of its opening audience was female and 52% of ticket buyers were
over 25 years old. The film rolled out across 3,515 locations. "Pan"
was originally slated to open in July, but Warner Bros. pushed the
film back into October citing the need for more time to complete the
visual effects work. The film's cast includes Hugh Jackman, Rooney
Mara and Garrett Hedlund. Joe Wright, best known for prestige fare
like "Atonement," directed the picture.
"Pan's" failure continues a rocky stretch for Warner Bros., which
greenlit the picture with ambitions to turn it into a
family-friendly franchise. The studio has suffered a string of
pricey missteps in recent months, losing tens of millions on the
likes of "We Are Your Friends," "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." and
"Jupiter Ascending."
In the case of "Pan," overseas audiences could cushion the blow and
the film has scored a release in China, but a picture like this
needs to do at least $400 million to break even. That's a tough
figure to hit, particularly with another family film, "Goosebumps,"
slated to open next weekend.
"It's going to take a lot overseas to help this," said Phil Contrino,
vice president and chief analyst at BoxOffice.com. "I don't see it
holding up next weekend. It doesn't have the space to rebound."
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