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In what can only be deemed “truly outrageous,” Universal Pictures’ movie rehash of ’80s cartoon Jem has already been pulled from theatres after a mere two-week run.

Jem and the Holograms, a more saccharine and less punky version of the popular classic, pulled in a meagre $1.37 million (all figures USD) in its opening weekend.

From there, it continued to dive over its second week, making $160 on average at each American theatre playing the film, which, considering the price of popcorn, is not good.

MORE: Jem and the Holograms set visit

As a result, Universal has pulled the movie entirely from theatres, in what industry insiders are calling an unprecedented move.

The film studio sunk $5 million into the production of Jem and the Holograms, and managed to scrape $2.1 million out of moviegoers — leaving a $2.9 million gap.

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It’s not all that much for a studio the size of Universal, but Jem and the Holograms now holds the distinction of having one of the worst openings in film history.

WATCH: The full-length trailer for Jem and the Holograms



“Theatre chains are contractually obligated to hold a film for two weeks after booking it. However, in all my days as an analyst, I’ve never seen a studio actually stop reporting after two weeks,” Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst at Exhibitor Relations, told Business Insider.

“This is unprecedented, and shows just how badly this film flopped. Not only is it the lowest-grossing debut for a studio film this year, but it’s the worst all-time — by a considerable margin — for any film released in 2,000-plus theatres.”

The pain for Universal will be temporary, since it’s had a banner year in 2015. The studio has produced three of the top five earners worldwide so far: Minions, Jurassic World and Furious 7.

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