‘Jem And The Holograms’ Yanked From Theaters After 2 Weeks: It’s Flop Time, Synergy!
What could have possibly gone wrong with a big screen adaptation of a cult 1980s cartoon series, from the time before millennials were born, aimed at millennials? Well, that sentence alone should indicate that everything that was set up to possibly go wrong with Universal’s Jem And The Holograms did.
The film debuted three weeks ago in an abysmal 15th place at the box office, with a mere $1.3 million earned on 2,413 screens. According to Box Office Mojo, that was the fourth worst opening ever for a film in more than 2,000 theaters, and the worst for a film playing in more than 2,400 theaters. Needless to say, Jem hit a sour note with movie-goers.
In its second week, the film dropped from 15th place to 18th, and its cumulative earnings had just barely squeaked past the $2 million mark. It was then that the movie’s distributor, Universal, decided to pull the plug altogether by pulling Jem And The Holograms out of theaters.
“Theater chains are contractually obligated to hold a film for two weeks after booking it. However, in all my days as an analyst, I’ve never seen a studio actually stop reporting after two weeks,” Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, told Business Insider Monday (November 9). “This is unprecedented, and shows just how badly this film flopped.”
Jem currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes reading of 20% out of 100. But, hey — maybe the movie will find an after-the-fact second life as a camp classic, a la Showgirls and Glitter, on streaming and DVD?
Keep the faith, kids.
Did you brave public humiliation by seeing the movie in theaters or were you like, BYE GIRL? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!
