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Transcendence Majorly Bombs at the Box Office, Continuing Johnny Depp’s Movie Slump

Johnny Depp in Transcendence
Johnny Depp stars in Transcendence.

Is Johnny Depp suffering from the curse of the black pearl? Or is he just in need of a golden ticket? The Pirates of the Caribbean and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory actor, who was once a guarantee for box-office gold, seems to now be a bad luck charm for his movies. 

Depp's latest film, Transcendence, hit theaters on Friday and continued his streak of box office bombs. The sci-fi thriller brought in a paltry $11.1 million this weekend, earning $4.84 million on its opening Friday, $3.82 million on Saturday, and $2.48 million on Sunday. 

Related: PHOTOS: Johnny Depp's movie makeovers

This total barely makes a dent in the big-budget film's production expenses, which came in at a massive $100 million. Transcendence, which also stars Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall, and Kate Mara, among others, earned slightly more at the international box office, bringing in $17.4 million abroad. 

Depp, 50, stars in the film as a man named Dr. Will Caster, who is working on taking computers to a new level in the form of a machine that would fuse technology with human intelligence, allowing it to transcend the capabilities of the mindthus transcendence. He is shot by extremist activists who want to fight the growth of artificial intelligence. Following the violence, Caster finds a way for his mind to live on through his technology.

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The futuristic flick was Depp's attempt to return to the good graces of the box office, but immediately fell flat. Transcendence, which was beat out this weekend by Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Rio 2, and Heaven is for Real, follows Depp's recent run of flops at the theater. His last movie, 2013's The Lone Ranger, made $89 million at the domestic box office on a $215 million budget, only topping its expenses with the $171 million it made abroad. 2012's Dark Shadows, which cost $150 million to make, made $79 million stateside, while 2011's The Rum Diary, made $13 million at the domestic box office and only $10.8 million internationally, reaching just over half of its $45 million budget in ticket sales. 

While Depp's name may not carry as much weight with audiences as it once did, Transcendence was also hurt by a C+ CinemaScore from movie-going audiences and negative reviews from critics, including Us' movie critic who called the film simply, "disposable."

Related: PHOTOS: Johnny Depp's big break

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