It’s no secret that Aaron Sorkin and Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs has been a massive flop in theaters, but an interesting comparison with the notorious Ashton Kutcher-starring biopic Jobs shows something surprising: Kutcher’s movie may ultimately emerge the box office winner.
Steve Jobs has so far made $17.8 million at the box office since its October release, compared to $16.1 million for Jobs back in August 2013. While that seems to give the (marginal) edge to the newer flick, however, the worldwide box office for the O.G. Jobs came to $35.9 million in total, compared to $24.8 million for Sorkin’s film.
There are still a few markets waiting for Steve Jobs, but, as VentureBeat points out, “Sorkin’s movie is going to have a tough climb ahead to match Kutcher’s.”
The real kicker comes down to the budgets, though. While the star-studded new movie cost $30 million, the Ashton Kutcher-starring Jobs set producers back only $12 million. Without full knowledge of the marketing cost for both movies it’s tough to say exactly what the deal is, but it’s almost certain that investors in Jobs will see their money long, long before those in Steve Jobs.
Who could ever have predicted that?