There were not as many fireworks at the US Memorial Day weekend box office this year as newcomer Tomorrowland disappointed with a $32.2 million debut.

The science-fiction adventure stars George Clooney and was directed by Brad Bird of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol renown. The Disney release was expected to pull in a lacklustre $40.7 million for the four-day period.

Universal’s Pitch Perfect 2 came in a close second with an estimated $30.3 million three-day haul and a projected $37.9 million for the four days. The acappella comedy’s domestic total stands at $125.4 million.

Tomorrowland had been expected to generate $40 million over the three-day period and $50 million over the four-day stretch. With a $180 million price tag, Disney faces an uphill climb to profitability. Not helping matters, overseas figures were an underwhelming $26.7 million.

Tomorrowland appears to have been dinted by middling reviews and an overly secretive marketing campaign that left too many plot details under wraps.

It received a mediocre B CinemaScore, indicating mixed word-of-mouth.

The weekend’s other new wide release, Poltergeist, pulled in $23 million from 3,240 locations for the three days and will make roughly $27.7 million for its first four days. The horror remake cost an economical $35 million to produce and was backed by Fox 2000 and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.