‘Jem’, ‘Kasbah’ & ‘Witch Hunter’ Flop Putting ‘The Martian’ Back On Top

It’s been a bad week for new movies at the United States box office, with four high-profile releases failing to strike a chord with audiences.

“Rock the Kasbah”, an Open Road Films release starring Bill Murray as a washed-up music producer who finds a star in Afghanistan, barely filled any seats with $1.5 million in 13th place.

The blend of scares and laughs conjured from the books of author R.L. Stine still took advantage of Halloween’s creeping approach, as the Jack Black-starring Goosebumps had a solid second weekend, taking in $15.5 million for a $58 million United States total. Bruce Willis, Kate Hudson and Danny McBride also star in Rock the Kasbah.

There were no silver linings for Bill Murray’s Rock the Kasbah, or Jem and the Holograms, though.

The wide release numbers are alarming, but it is worth noting that Universal produced the PG-rated “Jem” for only $5 million. DreamWorks, Participant Media and Disney partnered on the $40 million historical drama, which fell a scant 26 percent, less than the drops for past October titles Gone Girl, The Social Network and Captain Phillips.

Of the new batch, the adventure thriller The Last Witch Hunter fared the best. The Matt Damon product earned another $15.9 million this weekend, off a spectacular 25% compared to last weekend. Another, “Steve Jobs”, expanded after a brisk limited run in a few key cities, only to be given the cold shoulder by the general public.

Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks, held up in its 2nd weekend with $11.4-M from 2,811 theaters for a 10-day domestic take of $32.6-M.

In the case of “Steve Jobs”, Universal “never actually went out and said, ‘Here is what we think we are going to do this weekend, ‘ ” said Nick Carpou, the studio’s president of domestic distribution, in challenging reports that the film had fallen short of expectations.

Marking a franchise low, Paranormal Activity: Ghost Dimension landed at No. 6 with $8.2 million. Many cinema owners refused to play the Halloween offering because of a bold deal between Paramount, AMC and Canada’s Cineplex to make the Blumhouse-produced film available in homes earlier than usual.

The sixth installment of Paranormal Activity and a big screen version of the 1980s animated series Jen And The Holograms were also big flops, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In the art house world, Focus Features debuted historical drama “Suffragette” in four locations where it made $77,000 for a per-screen average of $19,250, while Broad Green fielded the Sarah Silverman drama “I Smile Back” in two locations to $16,036, for a per-screen average of $8,018.

Vin Diesel’s The Last Witch Hunter suggests the Fast and Furious star isn’t much of a box office draw without his Furious family and a couple of musical bombs prove to be not only two of the worst openings of 2015, but of all-time given their theater count. Nevertheless, three new films will enter the marketplace: Burnt, Our Brand Is Crisis and The Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse.