Weekend Actual: 'Witch Hunter' Loses its Magic, 'Jem' and 'Kasbah' Lose Their Voices, 'Jobs' Out of Business and 'Ghost Dimension' Bland

     'The Martian' and 'Goosebumps' retained the top 2 spots this weekend, experiencing very strong holds against a slew of newcomers, all of which struggled to find an audience.
     Taking the #1 spot for the third time, Ridley Scott's $108-million Matt Damon led sci-fi 'The Martian' slid just 26.1% from last weekend and grossed a solid $15.7 million. 'Martian', relying on strong reviews and word-of-mouth, has so far made an excellent $166.2 million, and is on track to close with over $215 million total.

     Although 'Goosebumps' had to settle for second place after taking the #1 spot last weekend, the $58-million Jack Black led horror comedy still performed strongly, falling just 34.3% from its debut to gross $15.5 million. With solid reviews (73% on Rotten Tomatoes) as well as encouraging word-of-mouth ('A' CinemaScore), 'Goosebumps' has brought in a respectable $43.7 million, and with Halloween coming up next weekend, $80 million still isn't out of the question.
   
     Retaining third place from last weekend, Steven Spielberg's $40-million Tom Hanks led drama 'Bridge of Spies' dropped a very slim 26% from its opening and grossing $11.4 million. Raving reviews (92% on RT) and word-of-mouth (91% Flixter score) have helped 'Spies' hold up well through its 10 days of release, and $60 million should still be in reach.
   
     Leading the disappointing newcomers this weekend was the $90-million Vin Diesel led action fantasy 'The Last Witch Hunter', which bombed with just $10.8 million (pulling in a horrible $3,508 per-theater average). 'Witch Hunter' never looked like it was going to be a hit, but not even the least generous predictions projected an opening this low. Starting out with a terrible $3.8 million on Friday ($525k of which came from Thursday night previews), the action fantasy increased 13.4% on Saturday to make $4.3 million, and declined 35.3% on Sunday to earn $2.8 million. Putting the weekend-to-Friday ratio at an admittedly solid 2.84-to-1, there is some chance that it will hold up well, but with terrible reviews (14% on RT) and weak word-of-mouth ('B-' on CinemaScore), that bridge might have been burned. A disappointing total of $25 million is likely.
     $80-million animated comedy 'Hotel Transylvania 2' held up nicely this weekend, bringing in $8.9 million, dropping a respectable 29.8%. With a solid $148.2 million so far (just $135k away from passing its predecessor), $165 million should still be a lock.
     Sixth installments in a beloved franchise usually tend to do well. 'Star Wars: Episode III' grossed $380.3 million back in 2005, and 'Fast and Furious 6' made a solid $238.7 million in 2013, but this sixth entry was downright disappointing. 'Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension', the $10-million supernatural horror, opened in 1,656 theaters but only managed $8.1 million for a $4,873 average. That is a whopping 55.7% decrease from the last installment, 'Marked Ones'. Critical reviews (15% on RT) and audience reception (39% on Flixter) didn't help matters at all, although they aren't the only factors to blame. Paramount decided to enact an unusual release plan, putting the film out digitally after 17 days of release when it is playing in fewer than 300 locations. 'Ghost Dimension' grossed $3.3 million on Friday, dipped 7% on Saturday to gross $3.1 million, and plummeted 44.7% on Sunday to make $1.7 million. That places the weekend-to-Friday ratio at front-loaded 2.45-to-1. It will likely fail to double its opening weekend gross like the last three films, and $13 million is very likely for the final installment of the long-fatigued horror series.
     Originally projected to earn an excellent $20m+ in its nationwide expansion, the critically acclaimed $30-million drama 'Steve Jobs' fell well short of everyone's expectations, grossing $7.1 million for a disappointing $3,508 per-theater average. After two strong weeks in limited release, this should have at least made it into the mid-teens. Instead, that performance failed to translate into anything meaningful. So what could have gone wrong? It had an all-star cast (Michael Fassbender, Seth Rogen, Kate Winslet, and Jeff Daniels, strong reviews (85% on RT) and word-of-mouth ('A-' CinemaScore). Casual viewers probably looked this over for more appealing films (e.g. 'Bridge of Spies', 'The Martian' (both of which got stronger reviews and word-of-mouth)), and perhaps the R rating prevented younger audiences to turn out in numbers. It barely beat similar Steve Jobs biopic 'Jobs', which opened to a lackluster $6.7 million back in 2013. That film topped out at a front-loaded $16.1 million. That film, however, suffered from poor reviews and word-of-mouth, so 'Steve Jobs' is likely to hold up better than that. Still, things aren't looking good so far, and a total of $28 million or more is likely.

     As expected, 'Crimson Peak' failed to hold up well in its second weekend, dropping 56.9% and grossing $5.7 million. The $55-million gothic horror from Universal currently has an underwhelming $22.6 million cume, and it shouldn't make much more than $35 million by the end of its run.
     'The Intern' continues to hold up well, dropping just 30.5% from last weekend to gross $3.8 million. The $35-million comedy has so far taken in a strong $64.6 million, and if it holds up really well in the coming weeks, $70 million might be in range.
     The $30-million crime thriller 'Sicario' continued to do solid business, grossing $2.58 million, which is down 37.6% from last weekend. 'Sicario' has grossed $39.3 million, and $43 million should still be in reach.
     Legendary flop 'Pan' grossed a paltry $2.6 million, down a troubling 55.2%. the $150-million Hugh Jackman starrer hasn't even made it past $30 million yet, with just $29.9 million in the bank. Expect a domestic finish of around $35 million.
     Faith-based drama 'Woodlawn' held up well in its second weekend, dropping 35.7% and making $2.6 million. So far, it has grossed $7.9 million, and $14 million is still likely.
     Debuting outside the Top 12, 'Rock the Kasbah' flopped with just $1.5 million, representing a meager $731 per-theater average. That's the fifth worst opening in 2,000+ theaters. The $15-million Bill Murray led comedy began with $533.1k on Friday, experienced a 12% uptick on Saturday to gross $597.1k, and  declined 43% on Sunday to earn $340.4k. Even though that places the weekend-to-Friday ratio at 2.81-to-1, 'Kasbah' should fade away from theaters quickly, with $4 million total.
     $5-million musical drama 'Jem and the Holograms' also bombed hard, with just $1.4 million from 2,413 locations ($570 average), ranking fourth in the all-time worst openings from 2,000+ theaters. Although it was never expected to make much, the trailers were all met with immense criticism, citing that the film turned the colorful, crime-fighting rock band from the 80's into a dramatic, girly drama. Beginning with a sad $458.7k on Friday, it increased an encouraging 23.6% on Saturday to earn $567k, and then fell 38.3% on Sunday to make $349.7k. That places the weekend-to-Friday ratio at 3.05-to-1. Like 'Kasbah', it could experience some back-loading, but ultimately will also disappear from theaters. $2.5-$3 million should be expected of the flop.
     Unfortunately, the Top 12 weekend box office was down 14.9% from last weekend, grossing a total of $95 million. It is also down a disappointing 7.9% from last year when Ouija took over (I know I'm saying disappointing a lot in this article, but it's kind of hard not to when there are so many bombs).
     Next weekend sees the release of the political comedy/drama 'Our Brand is Crisis', starring Sandra Bullock, the nationwide expansion of the Bradley Cooper led 'Burnt', and the horror comedy 'Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse' (which was partly filmed in my neighborhood), which will experience the same release pattern as 'Ghost Dimension'.