Battleship Tanks At The Box Office

Rihanna's acting debut in Battleship could not help the movie at the box office..



Universal and Hasbro Entertainment’s big-budget Battleship barely left port in its North American launch, grossing a dismal $25.3 million.

That’s well below the anticipated $35 million to $40 million that Universal and director Peter Berg were hoping for. Battleship, designed to put the studio squarely in the tentpole game, cost at least $209 million to produce, excluding a pricey marketing spend.

Battleship’s international gross of $226.8 million provides some cushion, but it needed a strong domestic performance to end up in the black. A $25.3 million opening means the movie might not clear $70 million or $80 over the long haul domestically, resulting in a notable loss for Universal and sparking plenty of Monday-morning quarterbacking within the studio about what went wrong.

What do you think went wrong?