Market Cap Doesn’t Equal Box Office Earnings: “Jobs” Behind “Social Network” & “The Internship”

Apple may be worth far more than Google or Facebook, but when it comes to movies about the companies, Jobs, based on the epic rise of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, is still way behind in box office earnings versus The Social Network about Facebook and The Internship comedy set at Google.

Released last Friday, Jobs enters its second weekend in theaters with a long way to go if it hopes to catch up to recent movies featuring Google and Facebook. Starring Ashton Kutcher as the world renown entrepreneur, the movie earned a meager $6.7 million during its opening weekend, and ranked seventh, behind both new releases The Butler and Kick-Ass 2, as well as five films entering their second week at the box office.

Even Ashton Kutcher’s viral speech from the teen choice awards did little to boost ticket sales this week, with box office standings at $8.6 million as of August 21. The film has earned a RottenTomatoes.com score of 26 percent, which means less than 25 of the 94 reviews on the aggregate film review website have been positive.

As far as industry movies go, Jobs pales in comparison to the success of the 2010 hit The Social Network. Written by Emmy Award winner Aaron Sorkin and directed by David Finch, The Social Network  was based on the Ben Mezrich book The Accidental Billionaires. The film tells the story of how Mark Zuckerberg came to lead the biggest social network in the world, allegedly stealing the site’s original concept from Harvard classmates Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.

While Roger Ebert claimed The Social Network was the best movie of 2010, and its RottenTomatoes.com score remains at 96 percent, the film’s biggest number was the $96.9 million it has earned in total domestic sales. At $22.4 million, The Social Network’s opening weekend generated more than three times what Jobs earned during its first days at the box office.

Lodged neatly between the success of The Social Network and the lackluster performance of Jobs is this year’s The Internship, starring comedy duo Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two aging salesmen who land intern positions at Google’s headquarters. Another box office film featuring a leading tech company, The Internship garnered tepid reviews, receiving a RottenTomatoes.com score of only 35 percent. Entertainment Weekly called the comedy, “A pleasant collection of mild laughs.”

The Internship’s opening weekend still beat Jobs by more than $10 million, raking in $17.3 million during its first days at the box office. Since its June release, The Internship has earned more than $44 million in domestic sales. Below is a comparison of key stats.

(Credit Image: ABCNews.com)