The 2010s have brought several Steve Jobs biopics to screens around the world, but Danny Boyle's (Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours) upcoming release Steve Jobs is set to financially and critically surpass any previous take on the Apple founder's life. The movie is set to be released by Comcast's
Though the film opens for general audiences in the coming weeks, Steve Jobs was screened at the Telluride and New York Film Festivals to surprisingly rave reviews from critics. After the Ashton Kutcher-led 2013 Steve Jobs biopic, Jobs, flopped at the box office, critics were skeptical as to how successfully Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave, X-Men: Days of Future Past) could portray the late controversial CEO of Apple
The film is structured in three acts, each focusing on the release of one of Jobs' creations. The first act focuses on the 1984 rollout of the original Macintosh before heading to 1988 for act two, which looks at Jobs' reaction to the failure of the Macintosh and effort to launch his new computer company, NeXT. Finally, audiences are transported to 1998-just three years before the iPod's debut-and focuses on Apple's release of the iMac. And while Fassbender's Jobs is rough and perhaps overconfident throughout the film, Kate Winslet's (Titanic, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) portrayal of Joanna Hoffman, Jobs' friend and confidant, and Seth Rogen's (Superbad, The Interview) take on Wozniak humanizes this intriguing man as well as provides extra star power for the film to bring in audiences.
Despite Jobs' tumultuous and controversial story being at the forefront of the film, it will likely have little effect on Apple's stock. The controversies surrounding Jobs' life and career are not new to consumers, so the film is unlikely to create a public relations nightmare for the company. If anything, the added exposure to the company's founding-even if dramatized for the screen-may create some consumer admiration of Apple's late founder and drive up even more brand loyalty in the coming months.
With an estimated budget of a low $30 million, Steve Jobs is set to help boost Universal's gross to new heights in the studio's record-breaking year with predictions for over $90 million in domestic gross. In August, Universal broke international box office records with $3.78 billion in overseas gross-with five months of releases to go. And that came after the studio shattered worldwide gross records with $5.53 billion in July after hits Jurassic World and Fast and Furious 7. And as the Steve Jobs biography that this movie is based on was Amazon's best selling book of 2011, there is already a built-in audience to make Steve Jobs a box office success.
But where Steve Jobs' impact can help Universal most is in the upcoming awards season, where Fassbender's performance is so notable to put him in the running for an Academy Award nomination. While there is a way to go until nominations are announced, a performance's hype can drive audiences into theaters long before the Academy Awards even sends out ballots, driving box office numbers up from the start. And with Universal's success at the box office this year, Steve Jobs will continue to push the studio further into the record books in its most successful year ever.
