At least these films won’t result in oceans of red ink. That wasn’t even good enough to crack the top ten and mark the lowest openings ever for studio films released in at least 2,000 theaters. The weekend also hosted two low-cost duds in Universal’s “ Jem and the Holograms” and Open Road’s “Rock the Kasbah,” which opened to $1.3 million and $1.5 million, respectively. “There is a tremendous amount of sophisticated, major market appeal.”

“Where this film works, it works like a champ,” said Nick Carpou, Universal’s domestic distribution chief. Universal said the picture is doing well in major markets like New York and San Francisco, and the studio believes that mounting Oscar buzz will help “Steve Jobs” attract audiences going forward. So far it has made just under $10 million. Ultimately the buzz didn’t translate into box office, making it unlikely that “Steve Jobs” will earn back its $30 million budget and the millions more in marketing costs. But for a brief time, it appeared that the strong reviews and eye-catching posters would work, allowing moviegoers to warm to the picture and its chilly protagonist. The talky drama always faced commercial headwinds - something that caused one studio, Sony, to pass on the project, before producer Scott Rudin found a backer in Universal. That barely beat the $6.7 million that Ashton Kutcher’s critically excoriated “Jobs” made in its initial weekend. It made a disappointing $7.3 million from 2,443 locations. Perhaps the most frustrating stumble was “Steve Jobs.” After scoring the year’s best per-screen average two weeks ago and slowly expanding with positive results, “Steve Jobs” failed to stick the landing when it was finally ready to go nationwide. “There’s no question it cost us a lot of box office that major circuits wouldn’t play the film,” said Rob Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures. Paramount is pointing to “Paranormal’s” strong results in circuits like AMC, where it was the top-grossing film for the weekend, as evidence that audiences didn’t stay away because they could see the film digitally early.

They refused to show the picture, leaving it to open on 1,656 screens, roughly 1,000 less than the previous film in the horror series. However, many chains balked, worrying that the plan threatened theatrical exclusivity and thus their business models.

The exhibitors will receive a cut of digital revenues in return for allowing the studio to release the latest “Paranormal Activity” electronically 17 days after the movie leaves most theaters. The studio partnered with exhibitors like AMC and Cineplex in a move that allows the film to make its home entertainment debut early. Paramount’s “Paranormal Activity” sequel whiffed, producing the lowest-grossing opening in franchise history with $8.2 million.

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