Box Office: 'Pan' Flops With $15.5 Million, 'The Martian' Keeps Top Spot

By Brent Lang
LOS ANGELES, Oct 11 (Variety.com) - "Pan" walked the plank
over the Columbus Day Weekend.
Warner Bros. spent $150 million to bring the Neverland
adventure to screens and millions more in marketing, but the big
budget fantasy mustered a puny $15.5 million opening. That debut
puts "Pan" alongside "The Fantastic Four" and "Tomorrowland" in
the pantheon of the year's most punishing flops.
"It's a huge misfire," said Jeff Bock, box office analyst
with Exhibitor Relations, adding, "We won't see another Peter
Pan film for awhile."
"Pan's" backers weren't the only ones having a rough
weekend. Sony's "The Walk" stumbled in its wide release,
expanding from 448 Imax and premium large format theaters to
more than 2,500 locations, and eking out $3.7 million in the
process. The biopic about Philippe Petit's daring high-wire walk
between the Twin Towers cost $35 million to produce and has
clear Oscar ambitions. It has made $6.4 million in its initial
two weeks in theaters.
With the new major studio releases teetering, Fox's "The
Martian" stabilized overall ticket sales. The space thriller
slipped a modest 32% in its second weekend, nabbing $37 million
and pushing its domestic total to $108.7 million. Sony's "Hotel
Transylvania 2" also showed impressive endurance, racking up
$20.3 million in its third weekend and bringing its stateside
haul to $116.8 million.
The top five was rounded out by Warner Bros.' "The Intern"
and Lionsgate's "Sicario," which earned $8.7 million and $7.3
million, respectively. "The Intern" has generated $49.6 million
in receipts, while "Sicario's" total stands at $26.7 million.
In limited release, Universal's "Steve Jobs" scored, pulling
in $521,000 across four theaters for a per-screen average of
$130,236. That ranks as the best theater average of the year.
Bruised by poor reviews and the continued strength of "Hotel
Transylvania 2," "Pan" failed to deliver family crowds. Roughly
55% of its opening audience was female and 52% of ticket buyers
were over 25 years old. The film rolled out across 3,515
locations. "Pan" was originally slated to open in July, but
Warner Bros. pushed the film back into October citing the need
for more time to complete the visual effects work. The film's
cast includes Hugh Jackman, Rooney Mara, and Garrett Hedlund.
Joe Wright, best known for prestige fare like "Atonement,"
directed the picture.