It's a sad day for movies when industry commentators are quoting "Hollywood's originality problem" as the reason why George Clooney's sci-fi epic Tomorrowland has tanked at the US box office.
That is the reason, however, offered by observers as to why the film drew $US41.7 million ($53.3 million) over the long Memorial Day weekend, a figure well below expectations.
Tomorrowland has been deliberately marketed as an original idea - bucking the trend of the deluge of franchises, reboots and sequels - although it's springboarding off its name, well known as a section of Disney theme parks.
It's centred around a mysterious pin which can transport wearers into the futuristic world called Tomorrowland, with Britt Robertson playing a science prodigy who enlists a reclusive scientist (Clooney) to help tackle this strange utopia.
Variety's Brett Lang said audiences did not know what to make of the film, and while efforts to stray outside of the franchise fodder was commendable, it was also a big risk. "The problem is that these gambles result more in Jupiter Ascendings than they do Indiana Joneses," Lang wrote.
He added that the movie has also performed poorly due to few details revealed about the story in advance, poor reviews and Clooney's fans amounting to an older crowd, missing the hoped-for teen and family audience.
"Tomorrowland exposes the limitations of stars like Clooney, who still pop up on magazine covers and gossip columns, but can't be relied on to open movies with their names alone," Lang wrote.
The Wall Street Journal wrote that it was the weakest Memorial Day performance since 2001, blaming Disney's "rare misfire" with Tomorrowland. The film, directed and co-written by The Incredible's Brad Bird, has seen Clooney spruik his efforts at premieres in London and Shanghai, appearing alongside wife Amal at the Tokyo launch on Monday.
Tomorrowland opens in Australia on Thursday.
