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‘The Fifth Estate’ bombs: Is Benedict Cumberbatch to blame?

In case you haven’t noticed by now, the Internet has a tendency to blow things out of proportion. Nowhere is this more evident than in the world of online fandom. Certain properties and actors can appear more popular than they actually are, thanks to the echo chamber that is social media, leading studios to take big risks on untested stars and unknown quantities.

Case in point: Benedict Cumberbatch. While there is no disputing Cumberbatch’s endless popularity online – the “Sherlock” and “Star Trek Into Darkness” star is practically a Tumblr god – this weekend’s box office results call into question the English actor’s ability to put butts in movie seats.

Cumberbatch’s new film “The Fifth Estate,” in which he plays embattled info-warrior and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, bombed and bombed hard. The film had the worst opening weekend of the year for any wide release with a paltry $1.7 million in receipts. Ouch.

Granted, it was an extremely busy weekend at the box office, with six new releases total and high profile holdovers like “Gravity” and “Captain Phillips” still in theatres. But that still doesn’t really explain why the Cumberbatch-anchored thriller, about the rise of secret leaking organization WikiLeaks, fared so poorly. Did mixed reviews hurt the movie? Did the real-life Julian Assange’s campaign against the film succeed? Were audiences simply uninterested in watching a film about info-war when flashier options like “Carrie” and “Gravity” were available to them?

Or was it something else? Is it possible that Benedict Cumberbatch is not quite the box office draw the film’s producers were counting on?

The actor’s legions of fans (some of whom refer to themselves as "Cumberbitches") would likely disagree with that assessment, but there's really no arguing with cold, hard box office numbers. Maybe Cumberbatch just isn't ready for the Hollywood main stage quite yet. Though he is a wonderful and talented actor, with his unorthodox looks he isn't exactly what you would call your typical Hollywood leading man. Actors like him are usually relegated to playing supporting characters and villains, and don't usually end up headlining major releases. That's not meant to say that Cumberbatch can't topline a big movie or shouldn't be allowed to try -- only that audiences outside of "Sherlock" and "Star Trek" fandom still aren't that familiar with him.

Perhaps after his memorable turn as baddie Khan Noonien Singh in "Star Trek Into Darkness," moviegoers just couldn't buy him as a blonde Australian hacker. Or maybe his performance as Assange was just so uncanny that prospective viewers didn't even recognize him in the role! Whatever the reason for "The Fifth Estate's" box office failure, the real-life Julian Assange is probably very happy right now.

"The Fifth Estate" is now playing.