LOS ANGELES — It was a truly outrageous weekend at the box office, and not in a good way.
The pack of new releases proved to be all-out duds, some worse than others, leaving room for holdovers “The Martian” and “Goosebumps” to stay in the top spots with $15.9 million and $15.5 million, respectively, according to Rentrak estimates Sunday. The Steven Spielberg/Tom Hanks Cold War thriller “Bridge of Spies” also held nicely in third place with $11 million.
Vin Diesel’s “The Last Witch Hunter” tanked with $10.8 million, killing any hopes of a new franchise. The Lionsgate film opened in fourth place and cost a reported $70 million to produce. This is the latest disappointment for Diesel who can’t seem to find consistent success outside of the “Fast & Furious” franchise.
None of the weekend’s flops will garner as much attention as “Jem and the Holograms,” though, which opened to $1.3 million to become one of the worst debuts of all time for a major studio movie opening in over 2,000 locations. Based on the 1980s animated series, the film opened on 2,413 screens, averaging $545 per screen, to take 15th place.
The wide release numbers are alarming, but it is worth noting that Universal produced the PG-rated “Jem” for only $5 million. Overall, teens did not seem interested in a movie based on a show that was popular decades before they were born. Audiences that did turn out were overwhelmingly female (in the 90 percent range).
Bill Murray’s “Rock the Kasbah” barely did better in ticket sales, pulling in only $1.5 million from 2,012 theaters, but it also cost three times as much as “Jem” to produce. It’s one of Murray’s worst debuts ever. Critics were not fans of the Barry Levinson-directed comedy about a rock manager who finds a new client in Afghanistan.
Poor reviews might have sunk “Witch Hunter,” “Jem” and “Kasbah,” but good reviews couldn’t propel Danny Boyle’s “Steve Jobs” to flashy heights. After two very strong limited-release weekends, the biopic failed to impress in wide release with $7.3 million.
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