Danny Boyle 'disappointed' Steve Jobs flopped at box office: blames release strategy

The film has been dropped by over 2,000 cinemas in the US

Michael Fassbender, and Perla Haney-Jardine in the biopic of Steve Jobs directed by Danny Boyle (Universal Pictures/AP)

Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs had a brilliant start, becoming the highest-grossing limited release of the year, making half a million in just four cinemas on initial release.

It turns out, however, that the majority if the US are pretty done with Steve Jobs biopics. When pushed out to 2,493 cinema screens two weeks later, the film flopped, so far grossing just $16.7 million of its $30 million production cost.

In an interview with the BBC, director Boyle expressed his disappointment with how the Michael Fassbender-flick has done at the box office, blaming the release strategy for its failure.

The treatment of his relationship with his daughter becomes conventionally melodramatic (© Universal Pictures)

"It’s very disappointing that when it was released wide across America it didn’t really work. So it’s retreated back now to the main cities,” he told BBC. “It’s very easy in hindsight, but I think it’s probably that we released it too wide too soon.”

After just two weeks of general release, the film has been withdrawn from over 2,000 cinemas by Universal due to dwindling ticket sales.

The film went through a difficult production period, as touched on by Boyle in the interview: "The history of the film is we were dropped by Sony. Universal have been exemplary in the way they've stood up for the film, promoted [it] and supported us throughout the whole process - and I think are genuinely very proud of the film.

"Yeah sure, you might have done it in a different way... But you know, you've got to get on now. And actually you hope that people will still find the film, because I think those that do obviously find it very rewarding.”

Boyle recently said how he put everything into the Aaron Sorkin-penned biopic about the Apple co-founder after David Bowie denied the director the use of his music in a planned film.

Steve Jobs is currently running in UK cinemas.