Despite the critical reception and star power behind the Danny Boyle-directed, Aaron Sorkin-scripted Steve Jobs, the film did not break through in terms of box office. Debuting on October 9th with a limited release, it pulled a promising $521,522 over four theaters, while its wider release beginning on October 23rd pulled in $7.1 million. For a film with a production budget of $30 million, this wasn’t a good start. With Steve Jobs’ box office revenue continuing to underperform, new information reveals that Universal has pulled the title from more than 2,000 movie theaters across the country.

According to information compiled by Box Office Mojo, circulation of Steve Jobs has been dropped from 2,072 movie theaters. This comes after the film dropped from 10th to 15th at the box office, having earned only $823,000 for a total of $16.7 million since its initial release.

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Image via Universal Pictures

Universal did not immediately respond to Collider’s request for comment.


Might this new development affect the film’s Oscar chances? If you think back to something like Lee Daniels’ The Butler, it was also released in October, which didn’t work out in its favor when it came time for an awards season campaign. The Weinstein Co. gave it a re-release, but that wasn’t enough to keep it fresh on voters’ minds. Then you look at something like Steve Jobs, which is held in higher acclaim by critics than The Butler, but it’s seemingly following a similar path. Michael Fassbender, who also has Macbeth as a sort of Best Actor backup, and Sorkin seemed like early Oscar contenders for nominations. However, Paul Dergarabedian of Rentrak told The Hollywood Reporter that the film’s “box-office performance should not impact its Oscar prospects. After all, it's the Oscars, not the People's Choice Awards.”

In short, we’ll have to see how Universal rallies around the film when the race becomes even more intense.

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Image via Universal Pictures

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