‘Steve Jobs,’ new releases can’t conquer ‘Martian’
Vin Diesel flick, latest ‘Paranormal Activity’ sequel disappoint.
The expansion of “Steve Jobs” to theaters nationwide and the release of major titles including “The Last Witch Hunter” with Vin Diesel and “Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension” defied box-office expectations but not in a good way. Universal’s “Steve Jobs” — directed by Danny Boyle, written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Michael Fassbender as the Apple co-founder — had the highest per-screen grosses of the year when it opened in four theaters two week ago, and it was projected to be the No. 1 film when it expanded over the weekend to 2,493 theaters in North America. But the $30 million biopic, which averaged an A-minus grade from the audience polling firm CinemaScore, could do no better than seventh at the weekend box office, with an estimated $7.3 million in ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada.
The weekend’s No. 1 movie, again, was 20th Century Fox’s “The Martian,” which added about $15.9 million to its coffers in its fourth weekend. The film has made $166.4 million domestically.
Last week’s No. 1 movie “Goosebumps,” based on R.L. Stine’s stories, made about $15.5 million for second place. That raises its cumulative total to $43.7 million.
The same studio also scored with “Hotel Transylvania 2,” which dropped only 29 percent in its fifth weekend; it finished in fifth, adding $9 million to its total gross, now $148.3 million.
Disney’s “Bridge of Spies,” directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks, finished at No. 3. It dropped just 26 percent in its second weekend, earning an estimated $11.4 million for a domestic total of $32.6 million.
Of the weekend’s new releases, the Lionsgate thriller “The Last Witch Hunter” starring Diesel as an immortal witch hunter did the best, taking in $10.8 million on 3,082 screens to finish at No. 4. ‘Paranormal Activity’ was sixth with $8.2 million.
■ Coming this week: Sandra Bullock hypes up a politician in “Our Brand is Crisis.” Cate Blanchett takes on the 2004 “60 Minutes” report about President George W. Bush’s military service. Local scouts have to save a town in “Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.”