One of Hollywoods most established directors, Ron Howard, an Oscar winner in 2002 for A Beautiful Mind, came up dreadfully short again at movie theaters in the United States and Canada over the weekend. Meanwhile, a director at the start of his career, Barry Jenkins, blew off the art-house doors with his Moonlight.
Mr. Howards Inferno, which cost Sony Pictures and LStar Capital roughly $75 million to make, not counting tens of millions in marketing costs, managed to sell only about $15 million in tickets during its first three days in theaters, according to comScore, which compiles box office data. Even more humiliating: Inferno, which stars Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones, was beaten by the second weekend of Tyler Perrys low-cost Boo! A Madea Halloween, which repeated as the No. 1 multiplex draw.