The samurai themed movie, starring Keanu Reeves, opened on Christmas day in the US, earning $7 million at 2,688 locations, finishing in sixth place at the box office. Internationally, the film opened in 14 countries earning a total of about $10 million.
In the US, "47 Ronin" is projected to earn under $20 million through Sunday, which is the worst debut for a $150 million-plus movie in 2013.
According to Variety, Universal Pictures has acknowledged that "47 Ronin" is a loser, disclosing that it's taken the ususual step of writing down some of its $175 million cost prior to the current quarter.
Universal Pictures issued a statement confirming the writedown but did not disclose its size.
"Universal Pictures regularly evaluates its film slate for potential adjustment," the studio said. "In the case of '47 Ronin,' we adjusted film costs in previous quarters and as a result our financial performance will not be negatively impacted this quarter by its theatrical performance."
Despite bombing in the box office in the US and Japan, "47 Ronin" finished first in the box office in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan.
The leading films in the Christmas day box office are Warner Bros' "The Hobbit: The desolation of Smaug" which collected $9.3 million followed by Paramount's "The Wolf of Wall Street" which collected $9.2 million.
Earlier this year, Disney took a writedown on "The Lone Ranger" after losing nearly $200 million on the Johnny Depp Western.
What do you think of Keanu Reeves' newest film? Check the trailer below!
