Despite its high profile, looks like the Jobs movie is a box-office disappointment. After middling reviews and a 25 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, Open Road Films predicted that the biopic on former Apple CEO Steve Jobs would make $8 to $9 million over its first weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. But if Monday’s box office numbers are correct, Jobs failed to do even that, bringing in just $6.7 million.
If you’re not familiar with the film business, a $6.7 million weekend might sound just dandy—that’s over half of the film’s $12 million dollar budget, comes from just 2,381 domestic theaters, and doesn’t include any international ticket sales. But in an industry which expects multi-million dollar profits from even the smallest independent film, the lack of a Social Network-style smash has likely sentenced Jobs to an early death in theatrical markets. The film’s distributors will probably try to keep it in a limited number of theaters for a few weeks more to recoup their investments, but don’t expect it to linger around on the big screen for much longer.
Bad word of mouth throughout the production process and during early screenings no doubt contributed to the film’s lackluster sales this weekend, and those who wanted to enjoy some geeky film fare had other options in Kick Ass 2, Elysium, The Wolverine, or Pacific Rim.
Of course, this isn’t the only Jobs movie set to grace the screen—Sony’s Aaron Sorkin-penned adaptation of Walter Isaacson’s biography is currently in development, and may see the light of film projector in the next few years. If industry pundits are looking for the next Social Network, perhaps they should look to the man who penned the first one.
Author: Serenity Caldwell, Associate Editor
Serenity has been writing and talking and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click. In her spare time, she sketches, writes, acts, sings, and wears an assortment of hats.