Box Office: ‘The Last Voyage of the Demeter’ Flops With $6.5 Million, ‘Barbie’ Keeps Her Crown For 4th Weekend With $33.7 Million

The Last Voyage of the Demeter sank without a trace over its opening weekend, going to a watery grave with just $6.5 million. The period horror film, which centers on one chapter of Bram Stokers Dracula, namely the bit where his coffin gets transported from Transylvania to England, was distributed by Universal. Its the studios second stab at reviving the worlds most famous vampire, with last springs Renfield, a campy take on the bloodsucker, also collapsing at the box office.

With audiences steering clear of The Last Voyage of the Demeter, relegating it to a fifth-place finish, Barbie continued to rule the world. The Warner Bros. release earned $33.7 million to capture first place for the fourth week in a row. That brings its total to a glittering $526.3 million.

In second place, Universals Oppenheimer earned $18.8 million for the weekend, bringing domestic ticket sales for Christopher Nolans look at the life of atomic bomb creator J. Robert Oppenheimer to $264.3 million domestically, an impressive figure for an R-rated drama. It now ranks as Nolans fourth-highest grossing stateside release, behind Inception, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises (all of which dealt with less weighty subjects).

Paramount Pictures Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem took third place, earning $15.7 million. The animated feature, which was produced by Nickelodeon Movies and Point Grey Productions, has a domestic total of $72.8 million after two weeks of release.Meg 2: The Trench dropped 60% from its $30 million opening weekend, to earn $12.7 million, for a fourth-place finish. That brings the Warner Bros. adventures stateside haul to $54.5 million.

The Last Voyage of the Demeter cost $45 million to produce and ranks as another box office whiff for Amblin, Steven Spielbergs production company, which has released recent commercial disappointments like Easter Sunday and The Fabelmans (the latter, at least, earned a boatload of Oscar nominations and positive reviews). The fate of The Fabelmans wont be repeated by The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which suffered a paltry 27% approval rating from top critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences seemed to agree, with a Cinema Score survey of ticket buyers giving it a lackluster B- rating. All of this may add up to a stake through the heart of Dracula movies and reboots for the foreseeable future. The problem with movies about the undead, however, is that its awfully hard to kill them off.