‘Poms’ is the worst box-office flop of the year so far

STX Entertainment

• "Poms" is the second box-office bomb in a row for STX Entertainment.
• It made only $5 million over the weekend and is the biggest flop of the year so far.
• STX’s animated movie "UglyDolls" was the first big flop of the summer last weekend.
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STX Entertainment is not having a good year at the box office.

Its animated movie "UglyDolls" was the summer’s first box-office flop last weekend, and its new comedy, "Poms," is officially the biggest box-office bomb of the year so far.

"Poms," which stars Diane Keaton as a woman who forms a cheerleading team at a retirement community, made only $5 million domestically over the weekend, falling short of the already-poor projections by box-office experts. Its the worst debut of the year for a movie opening in over 2,700 theaters. Experts projected "Poms" to open to $8 million.

READ MORE: ‘UglyDolls’ is the summer’s first box-office flop as ‘Avengers: Endgame’ continues to dominate

"Poms" wasn’t a hit with critics either, and has a 30% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.

"For a film that’s supposed to instill confidence in the hearts of its target demographic and beyond, it lacks that same sense of bravery in its storytelling to say something genuinely moving," Variety’s Courtney Howard wrote. "Time and time again, it falls back on outdated clichés and lazy contrivances."

Last weekend, STX’s "UglyDolls" made just $8.5 million. It was made for $45 million, so it will likely fail to earn back its production budget (it made another $4 million in its second weekend).

Both movies follow a string of 2018 flops for STX, both critically and financially.

"Mile 22" made a lousy $36 million in the US and was one of Mark Wahlberg’s worst-reviewed movies of his career with a 22% Rotten Tomatoes critic score. The raunchy puppet comedy "The Happytime Murders" made only $20 million domestically, and has a 23% Rotten Tomatoes critic score.

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See Also:

• Disney’s movie release shake-up shows how it will dominate Hollywood for years to come, from ‘Avatar’ to ‘Star Wars’
• How ‘Avatar’ paved the way for the huge box office success of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ in China
• ‘UglyDolls’ is the summer’s first box-office flop as ‘Avengers: Endgame’ continues to dominate

SEE ALSO: Netflix quietly debuted sci-fi movie ‘The Wandering Earth,’ the second-biggest Chinese blockbuster of all time

Source: Business Insider – tclark@businessinsider.com (Travis Clark)