Despite critical acclaim, Universal's Steve Jobs film underperformed, and director Danny Boyle has revealed why he believes that was the case.

In an interview with BBC (via The Hollywood Reporter), Boyle said he thinks the studio's release strategy was the reason for the film's limited success, having jumped the gun on a widespread launch.

"It's very easy in hindsight, but I think it's probably that we released it too wide soon," he said.

Universal recently dropped the film from its wide release of 2,400 screens to just 400 screens as of last weekend. Steve Jobs has made roughly $17 million to date, roughly half of its reported production budget.

Steve Jobs was initially released in just four theaters where it saw incredible success, but two weeks later, Universal expanded its reach. Boyle believes the studio "should have built more slowly."

That said, Boyle praised Universal for its support of the film, despite its poor performance, adding: "I think [they] are genuinely very proud of the film. Yeah sure, you might have done it in a different way ... But you know, you've got to get on now."

Steve Jobs released last month to much critical claim. Read our glowing review to find out why we came away impressed.