Zac Efron's new film is one of the biggest bombs ever

The latest movie starring wonderboy Zac Efron has bombed over the weekend, becoming one of the worst releases in American box office history.

We Are Your Friends, which stars Efron as an aspiring DJ, flopped, with Entertainment Weekly reporting it grossed just US$1.8 million (NZ$2.79m) despite being released in 2388 theatres.

Some are speculating the film, which is also screening in New Zealand, may not even make back it's US$6 million (NZ$9.2m) budget.

The only movies to gross worse than it over the past 33 years are Ooglieloves in the BIG Balloon Adventure and Delgo, both of which failed to crack US$1 million.

The film, which also stars Wes Bentley and Emily Ratajkowski, also fared badly with critics, with just a 43 per cent approval rating on RottenTomatoes.

Some praised the film's energy and Efron's performance, while others criticised it for being clichéd and boring.

USA Today's Brian Truitt called the film "a 96-minute, stylized-within-an-inch-of-its-life music video with slow-motion closeups on gyrating body parts, a PSA about the dangers of drugs and booze, pity sex in cars, a rather informative lesson in how to be a DJ, and Efron showering a bunch".

While Mark Olsen of the Los Angeles Times said: "The movie never quite decides if it wants to be a sensitive drama of self-actualisation or a playful party movie and ultimately misses the mark on both counts".

Zac Efron, second from the left, and his co-stars in a scene from We Are Your Friends.

The bomb is the latest dip in Efron's mixed track record. Last year's comedy hit Bad Neighbours grossed US$264.8million (NZ$414.9m) in total and is currently filming a sequel, while That Awkward Moment only made US$40.5 million (NZ$62.6m) overall.

His next movies include Dirty Grandpa with Robert de Niro and a potential role in the Baywatch remake.

We Are Your Friends failed to crack the Top 10. N.W.E. biopic Straight Outta Compton earned its third consecutive No. 1, while Christian drama War Room came second. Jurassic World, despite coming out in June, still managed to place ninth.

Other movies in the top 10 worst bombs of all time list include Eddie Murphy's The Adventures of Pluto Nash and animated sequel All Dogs Go to Heaven 2.

Efron's ex-girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens, is also attached to a Top 10 worst grosser. Her 2009 film, Bandslam, has the ninth worst opening in history.

US Top Ten

1. Straight Outta Compton - US$13.2 million (NZ$20.4m)
2. War Room - US$11 million (NZ$17m)
3. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - US$8.3 million (NZ$12.8m)
4. No Escape - US$8.3 million (NZ$12.8m)
5. Sinister 2 - US$4.7 million (NZ$7.2m)
6. Man From U.N.C.L.E. - US$4.4 million (NZ$6.8m)
7. Hitman: Agent 47 - US$3.9 million (NZ$6m)
8. The Gift - US$3.1 million (NZ$4.8m)
9. Jurassic World - US$3.1 million (NZ$4.8m)
10. Ant-Man - US$3.1 million (NZ$4.8m)

- nzherald.co.nz with AP