Pan fails to spark US box office imagination

Pan stars Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard in an imagined prequel to JM Barrie's original Peter Pan story

Neverland 3D-fantasy film Pan has failed to reach the top of the North American box office chart, despite much promotion and its $150m (£98m) cost.

The movie, starring Hugh Jackman as Blackbeard and directed by Atonement director Joe Wright, took $15.5m (£10m) and entered the chart at number three.

It was outshone by space thriller The Martian which held on to the top spot for a second week, taking $37m (£24m).

Hotel Transylvania 2 stayed at number two, making $20.3m (£13m).

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Pan's relative lack of success ranks it alongside The Fantastic Four and Tomorrowland as one of the year's most disappointing big budget achievers. Pan was released over the four-day Columbus Day weekend, which remembers Christopher Columbus' arrival to the Americas in 1492.

"It's a huge misfire," box office analyst Jeff Bock told Variety. "We won't see another Peter Pan film for a while."

The film's story is an invented prequel of JM Barrie's Peter Pan and Captain Hook adventure.

Levi Miller plays Peter Pan alongside Jackman's ruthless pirate and features Rooney Mara and Kathy Burke. It opens in the UK on 16 October.

Ridley Scott's The Martian, in its second week of release, has now notched up $108.7m (£71m) at the US box office.

Hotel Transylvania 2 also showed its staying power. Now in its third week, it has takings to date of $116.8m (£76m).

Workplace comedy The Intern, starring Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway, earned $8.7m (£6m) and finished the weekend at number four, the same spot as last week. It has now made $49.6m (£32m).

Drug war thriller Sicario, starring Emily Blunt, brought in $7.4m (£5m) and came in at number five, dropping from its previous number three position. The film has overall takings to date of $26.7m (£17m).