Steve Jobs film flops at the box office on opening weekend

[Scorpus]

Steve Jobs, the film written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Michael Fassbender as the titular co-founder of Apple, has raked in just $7.3 million on its opening weekend despite widespread praise from critics.

The United States box office figures for the past weekend place Steve Jobs in seventh place, behind films such as Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension. Instead of viewing Steve Jobs, moviegoers flocked to see The Martian, which came in first place with an estimated $15.9 million at the box office, as well as newer releases Goosebumps and Bridge of Spies.

The box office performance of Steve Jobs paints a grim picture for distributor Universal Pictures. The film itself cost $30 million to make, with estimates suggesting Steve Jobs needs to rake in $120 million at the box office to break even, after marketing and distribution costs are factored in. Having only pulled in $7.3 million in its first week, it seems unlikely that the film will be a success for Universal.

There are several theories as to why Steve Jobs performed so poorly at the box office, despite its favorable reception from critics. Some believe Academy Award contenders such as The Martian and Bridge of Spies are currently attracting all the limelight, while others suggest the not-so-accurate portrayal of Jobs is turning Apple fans away.

Universal Pictures still believes the film is "showing strength" in some markets thanks to word-of-mouth momentum, though clearly the film isn't doing as well as they might have hoped.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/62551-steve-jobs-film-flop.html

 

[Mister_K]

Awful marketing. Kind of an Irony really ...

 

[VitalyT]

Being beaten by Paranormal Activity is like being raped by teletubbies.

Shows clearly where the brain of the modern society is...

Yes, it took a vacation sometime in the last century, never to return.

 

[davislane1]

Being beaten by Paranormal Activity is like being raped by teletubbies.

Shows clearly where the brain of the modern society is...

Yes, it took a vacation sometime in the last century, never to return.

I'd say this was more to be expected. As h3llion stated, the film wasn't marketed that well. More importantly, everyone already knows Jobs' story. It's been fed to us repeatedly over the years. If I had a choice between a story I already know or a run-of-the-mill horror flick, I'm choosing the latter, for the cheese.

 

[Matt B]

£9 cinema ticket or 10 minutes scanning this; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

 

[Mister_K]

£9 cinema ticket or 10 minutes scanning this; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs

I certainly do like seeing Startup Movies as it is super inspirational (although, awfully one sided as usual...). I tend to save my Cinema experience for movies that "matter" however (ex Project X, that was, well...).

 

[Adhmuz]

"others suggest the not-so-accurate portrayal of Jobs is turning Apple fans away" So they turned off all the apple fans, that leaves everyone else who can care less about watching a computer documentary in a movie theater. This was never a "Go Out and See" movie IMO, unless your a die hard Steve Jobs fan, but they failed to portray him accurately so good luck there. Really though it was too soon and the hype just didn't feel right.

 

[mailpup]

I think people's interest in Steve Jobs was overestimated. While the average person may have heard of Steve Jobs, I don't think they really knew all that much about him nor did they especially care. Maybe tech oriented people like some TechSpot members knew all about him but not the average person. Even if they did know Job's life story already, that alone wouldn't necessarily stop them from seeing the movie. I'd say most people who went to see Titanic knew what happened to it already.

 

[oldikes]

Why in the world would I want to watch a movie about steve jobs? I know his story and after that I couldn't care less, especially if the movie is glorified and inaccurate.

 

[RustyTech]

That's so sad...and funny at the same time. I always thought the prospect of making a Steve Jobs film was a joke! Why in the entire world would I pay $10 (some places is $12) so go see the ***-hat's made up history, when I already know his history?
...and really, I don't care about his biography.

I don't think it takes a genius to have known that this was going to be a flop.

 

[UltraModernGuy]

What they needed to do was cut out 85 minutes of the movie and just show a preview of the iPhone 7. That would have broken box office records. Besides, wasn't there a Steve Jobs movie just a few years ago?

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I'd rather watch 85 minutes of grass growing.

 

[Barack Obama]

Why in the world would I want to watch a movie about steve jobs? I know his story and after that I couldn't care less, especially if the movie is glorified and inaccurate.

I know, right? It is almost like the film makers didn't make the movie especially for IkeSmasher, and figured some of the 3 billion people that have been born since IkeSmasher was born might just want to take a peek.

 

[yRaz]

Why in the world would I want to watch a movie about steve jobs? I know his story and after that I couldn't care less, especially if the movie is glorified and inaccurate.

I know, right? It is almost like the film makers didn't make the movie especially for IkeSmasher, and figured some of the 3 billion people that have been born since IkeSmasher was born might just want to take a peek.

You're trying too hard

 

[Barack Obama]

I think the problem is the previews show him in a somewhat negative light... so that means fanboys will not want to see it.

Then that leaves apple haters as people who would see it. Good luck with that as much as you will see apple fanboys watch a bill gates biography..

That leaves a bunch of housewives and redneck dudes into putting big tires on their trucks as the people remaining who would go see this movie.

Since there is no nudity, good luck with that one

 

[EClyde]

What most people fail to understand is that essentially no one cares about this guy or his life.....Why make a movie?

 

[oldikes]

I know, right? It is almost like the film makers didn't make the movie especially for IkeSmasher, and figured some of the 3 billion people that have been born since IkeSmasher was born might just want to take a peek.

Apparently they didn't sooooo

 

[mrtraver]

No one outside the iCult cares about Steve Jobs or his story.

 

[tonylukac]

Just another publicity stunt for iphone/iwatch (3 hour battery life). Should have been called to catch a thief.

 

[Jam_Man]

Marketing wouldnt have helped.

I have an interest in Jobs as I lived through the home computer revolution in the 80's and find it fascinating, have read the Jobs biography and Wozniaks book too and found both really interesting. I then saw the trailer for the latest Jobs movie at the cinema last week and thought "meh". Not one Id choose to pay to see at the cinema. How are people not interested in the subject going to be attracted by it ?

Most people who want to go to the cinema have the choice of The Martian/Spectre etc. Most people arent actually that interested in Steve Jobs or a film about his life, it was never going to be as attractive as some of the blockbusters.

Add to that there was a Steve Jobs movie only recently gives even less reason for people to go.

 

[lripplinger]

Not only are there to many films out there about this guy that is six feet under, but who gives a crap? Apparently not enough, since Universal is now sweating over the wasted budget. Furthermore, what made Steve Jobs suddenly god anyway? He was just another wanker who made shitloads of money peddling crap, proprietary products and junk software. Hell, the whole "Apple" brand is a lot of marketing hype anyway as far as I am concerned. Why else would suckers waste their paychecks on useless trinkets like "smart watches"?

 

[amstech]

Steve Jobs didn't invent computing or come up with the idea, he recycled and re-innovated technology. Many people were involved with the creation of IT as we know it, not just one person.
Apple's current fame has his legacy amplified past any realistic notion.

I like Steve Jobs and he is a very important part of why I have a good paying job now, but WAY to much credit is giving to him based solely on popularity.

 

[ealltech]

I'd rather watch 85 minutes of grass growing.

 

[techsoup]

Say what you want about the man, but on a pure filmmaking level, this movie is incredibly appealing. The structure, how it almost plays out as a stage-play, feels fresh. A nice break from the common biopic-tropes that Hollywood does every time.

The acting, throughout the entire movie is great, Michael Fassbender is a great VERSION of Jobs. Note that I say version, because I believe some things are not accurate (like his look, obviously). But that is to be expected from any film-production, they'll churn up the drama to make the plot more interesting.

Lastly, the Score, my god! It's perfect! Adds drama and tension in just the right moments.

It seems like I'm in the minority here, but I loved this movie.

 

[captaincranky]

Well, if you wanted to know, "all about turtlenecks", I think media from the 70's would have been a much better place to start.

Then there's this. The most fitting end this stinker could have, would be for all the iSheep to pirate it, and then watch it on their iPhones.

Or......maybe, they could have coat tailed the success the Bible has had, and named it, "the Book of Job(s)".