LOS ANGELES – Ron Howard’s In the Heart of the Sea sunk at the box office, mustering up a measly $11million after debuting in 3103 theatres.
It’s a painful flop for the director behind A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13. One of the worst of his Oscar-winning career. With a $100million production budget, the film will likely result in a steep write down for Warner Bros, the studio behind the seafaring epic.
In the Heart of the Sea’s failure is the latest in a long string of missteps and disasters for the company, which is reeling from a litany of disasters that includes The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Jupiter Ascending and Pan. The studio did catch a break over Thanksgiving when Creed emerged as a sleeper hit and its financial exposure is softened on In the Heart of the Sea because Village Roadshow was a financial partner.
“We stand behind Ron and his vision for the story,” said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros distribution executive vice-president.
“We believe in him. He’s a terrific filmmaker. But some movies work and unfortunately some movies don’t.”
In the Heart of the Sea reunites Howard with Chris Hemsworth. The pair previously collaborated on the racing drama Rush.
It centres on the Essex, a whaling vessel that had a violent encounter with a sperm whale.
The nautical disaster inspired Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. Outside of the Thor movies, Hemsworth has struggled to establish himself as a box office draw ? Rush and this year’s cyber thriller Blackhat both fizzled.
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