LOS ANGELES (AP) – It’s a bad time to be a new movie in theaters.
None of this weekend’s new openers made much of an impact, and one, “Jem and the Holograms,” which made $1.4 million, even got the dubious distinction of having the worst opening ever for a major studio movie released in over 2,000 theaters.
But “Jem” only cost $5 million to produce. The $15 million “Rock the Kasbah” opened in 13th place and earned only $1.5 million, and the expensive Vin Diesel vehicle “The Last Witch Hunter” opened in fourth place with $10.8 million. It cost a reported $70-$80 million to make.
“Steve Jobs” also failed to impress in its first weekend in wide release earning only $7.1 million, despite a strong two weekends in limited release, stellar reviews and awards buzz.
Poor performances by the new films allowed “The Martian” to reclaim the top spot at the box office in its fourth weekend in theaters with $15.7 million. Holdovers “Goosebumps” and “Bridge of Spies” took the second and third place spots.