EW: Biggest Box Office Flops of 2015

[JamesG.]

Biggest Box Office Flops of 2015
by Madeline Boardman
12/2/15


This year may have seen the release of such successes as Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Inside Out, but 2015 also played host to some serious turkeys.

Below are 13 wide-release films from the past 11 months that crashed and burned at the box office.







Rock the Kasbah






With an estimated production budget of $15 million, the Bill Murray-starring Rock the Kasbah made just $1.47 million at 2,012 theaters on its opening weekend.

After about a month in theaters, the comedy had made just short of $3 million, well under its budget.









Jem and the Holograms






Despite months of hype and nostalgic anticipation, Jem and the Holograms failed to fill seats for showtime. The reinterpretation of the ’80s series made just $1.38 million at 2,413 theaters on its opening weekend.

The theater count took a nosedive after a dismal second week, bringing the movie’s worldwide grand total to $2.2 million.



“People in Hollywood have a tendency to retreat from financial failure,” said producerJason Blum after the debut.

“There are movies that we have done that haven’t come out very well. That doesn’t feel very good. But Jem is in a different category. I’m proud of the movie. I stand by the movie, but I’m obviously sorry it didn’t do any better.”









Our Brand is Crisis






Even Sandra Bullock couldn’t save the box office for Our Brand is Crisis. The political drama opened to $3.24 million at 2,202 theaters, giving the star her worst wide-release opening of all time.

Dropped to just 50 theaters as of mid-November, Crisis posts a domestic total gross of $6.95 million, well under its estimated production budget of $28 million.









Blackhat






The Chris Hemsworth-starring Blackhat fell short when it hit theaters in January. The Michael Mann film earned $3.9 million at 2,567 theaters on its opening weekend, staying onscreen for just a few more weeks.

Pulled in February, Blackhat failed to make back its estimated $70 million budget with a total worldwide gross of $19.47 million.









The Walk






Failing to achieve the same kind of success that Philippe Petit had with his famed stunt, The Walk fell short of expectations. The drama opened in 448 theaters in October, making just $1.98 million.

One week later, Robert Zemeckis’ film expanded to wide release, but with little audience interest. It earned $3.7 million at the domestic box office, and has grossed just $10.14 million in total.

Fortunately, its foreign box office has fared better with $31.62 million abroad.









Seventh Son






Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore hit 2,875 theaters in Seventh Son in February, but despite its star power and theater count, the movie made just $7.2 million on its opening weekend.

After six weeks in theaters, Seventh Son earned a domestic total of $17.2 million. The action flick only broke its estimated $95 million budget when an additional $96.95 million came in from the foreign market.









Aloha






A release marked by controversy, Aloha made $9.67 million at 2,815 theaters on its opening weekend.

With the theater count slowly but surely dwindling over the following weeks, the star-studded film from director Cameron Crowe reached a worldwide gross of $26.25 million, noticeably under its estimated $37 million production budget.









Steve Jobs






Despite mountains of hype and awards buzz, Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs has failed to connect with audiences since its release in October. Two weeks of limited release earned the Michael Fassbender-led biopic $2.2 million, and the project added an additional $9.81 million from 2,493 theaters on its wide release.

So far, the film’s domestic total stands at just $17.6 million, just barely more than what Ashton Kutcher’s much derided take on the Apple co-founder earned in 2013.



“It’s very easy in hindsight, but I think it’s probably that we released it too wide too soon,” Boyle told the BBC of the box-office failure.

“It’s very disappointing that when it was released wide across America it didn’t really work, so it’s retreated back now to the main cities. And actually you hope that people will still find the film – because I think those that do obviously find it very rewarding.”









The Last Witch Hunter






Even Vin Diesel isn’t immune from box office missteps. The Last Witch Hunter opened in 3,082 theaters in October to an unimpressive $10.8 million.

Dropped to fewer than 1,000 theaters within a month, Witch Hunter posted a domestic total of $26.86 million as of mid-November. Overseas, the film, which had a reported $90 million budget, earned additional $78.35 million.









Chappie






Chappie opened in the No. 1 spot on a quiet weekend in March with a mediocre total of $13.34 million at 3,201 theaters.

The weekly gross only slowed down from there as the movie completed its run with a domestic total of $31.57 million.









Pan






Pan quickly lost its magic after a $15.3 million opening weekend at 3,515 theaters. The fairy tale film from Joe Wright dropped down in both theater count and weekly gross soon after, posting a domestic total of just $34.06 by mid-November.

Even a worldwide gross of $123.06 can’t measure up to Pan’s estimated $150 million budget.









Jupiter Ascending






Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis failed to take flight with the February release of Jupiter Ascending. The space movie opened with $18.37 million from 3,181 theaters, failing to top the weekend’s box office.

After playing for months across the globe, Jupiter just barely exceeded an estimated production budget of $176 million as the international gross reached $183.89 million.









Fantastic Four






Fantastic Four opened in a huge way, screening in 3,995 theaters. But despite that number, the movie made just $25.68 million on its opening weekend, far less than either of the previous Fantastic Four films had earned during their opening weeks.

The superhero reboot, which was marred by controversy thanks to a tweet from director Josh Trank, would finish its run with $56.1 million, well under its estimated $120 million budget.

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/02...ice-bombs-2015