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 With rave reviews, a strong early opening in New York and Los
Angeles, and a revered figure as its subject, "Steve Jobs" was
seen as a strong competitor for best picture, director, actor,
and screenplay Academy Awards next year.
Yet when the Danny Boyle-directed film opened across the United
States at the weekend, Americans stayed away in droves. The
Universal Pictures movie took just $7.3 million at domestic
movie theaters for a total to date of about $10 million in what
Hollywood trade paper Variety deemed a flop.
"What was a lock (for Oscar success) before, feels less so now,"
said David Poland, editor of website Movie City News. "If there
is a relentless flop conversation about the movie in coming
weeks, it will hurt more and more in terms of awards season
because people don't really give awards to flops."
Awards watchers note that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences has never paid attention to commercial success,
rewarding movies like "The Hurt Locker" and "Birdman" with its
biggest prizes despite their small audiences.
However, "there is so much competition this year, the fact that
("Steve Jobs") is a box office disappointment is not going to
help it," said Pete Hammond, film critic and awards columnist
with entertainment industry website Deadline.com.
"Steve Jobs" is the third major movie about the Apple marketing
genius who died in 2011. It follows a biopic in 2013 starring
Ashton Kutcher, and an Alex Gibney documentary released in
September.
Variety said the new film suffered from fierce competition,
possible public weariness with Jobs, the low profile of actor
Michael Fassbender in the title role and too fast a roll-out
nationwide.
Universal did not respond to requests for comment, but domestic
distribution chief Nick Carpou told Variety the studio believes
the movie can recover.
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"We are going to continue to support the film in the markets where
it is showing strength," Carpou said. "The critics are there for it
and the buzz in these markets is strong."
Tom O'Neil, founder of awards tracker Goldderby.com, agrees.
"It's going to be fine at the Oscars. Voters love it, the buzz is
fantastic across town. It's not going to be hurt by this. It's a
momentary set-back," he said. Boyle, Fassbender, writer Aaron Sorkin
and British actress Kate Winslet were all among early favorites for
Oscar glory in February, although nominations are not announced
until January.
Hammond said Universal may have problems keeping the movie in the
public eye until then. "It's going to lose screens fairly quickly
especially when hugely competitive films come out for the holiday
season."
Hollywood observers expect Universal to reposition its marketing
strategy to shake-off the "flop" label.
Still, O'Neil said the film could have used a catchier title. "Just
calling the movie 'Steve Jobs' makes the average movie-goer think,
been there, done that. We know that story."
(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Toni Reinhold)
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