It’s been a tough year for Sony’s Columbia Pictures. Literally nothing has worked at the box office.
This week’s release, the very good “Caught Stealing” starring Austin Butler should have made a splash.
But the Darren Aronofsky romp finished third over the weekend, behind “Weapons” and the 50th anniversary release of “Jaws.”
Even all those influencers who Sony flew in for their premiere this week didn’t give their umpteenth failed release a boost.
In other words, Elvis (who Butler played so well) has left the building.
The real twist is that “Caught Stealing” was in more theaters than any other movie. But it made $7.8 million compared to $10.2 million for “Weapons.”
“Jaws” bit off $8.1 million and finished second.
In 5th place came “The Roses,” an unnecessary remake of “The War of the Roses,” with $6.3 million. Why two of the best actors — Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch — would up in that thing is still a head scratcher.
As for Sony, among their disasters this summer was “Afterburn” a movie no one knows exists, starring Dave Bautista and Samuel L. Jackson. It cost $70 million, played for a week in the Netherlands, and made just $65,000.
“Afterburn” is supposed to open here on September 18th. I found one review on Twitter: “This was a really boring and unoriginal post-apocalyptic movie that features some fun action sequences but suffers pacing issues. The performances are alright. The VFX looked really bad at times. It’s not worth the watch at all.”
Look for it on a plane.
