Walk the plank! Pan nosedives at the box office

The new Pan film cost $150m to make but has only managed to take $15.5m in an extremely poor opening weekend in the US. Warner Bros had hoped the 3D Neverland adventure would thrill audiences with its CGI effects and lead performance by Hugh Jackman. However, its puny opening puts it alongside 2015’s other flops The Fantastic Four and Tomorrowland. "It’s a huge misfire,“ said Jeff Bock, box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations.

We won’t see another Peter Pan film for awhile.

Jeff Bock at Exhibitor Relations

Pan was originally slated to open in July, but Warner Bros pushed it back into October citing the need for more time to complete the visual effects work. The film’s cast also includes Rooney Mara, Garrett Hedlund and newcomer Levi Miller in the title role. Warner Bros has suffered a string of failures in recent months, losing tens of millions on the likes of We Are Your Friends, Guy Ritchie’s The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Jupiter Ascending. While Matt Damon’s The Martian has dominated the box office, Pan wasn’t the only film to have a disappointing time. Sony’s The Walk - about a high wire walk between the Twin Towers - stumbled in its wide release.

It’s a conundrum why more folks didn’t come out, because once you see it, it’s one of those films that you never forget.

Rory Bruer, Sony’s distribution chief

Arts Pan