UNITED KINGDOM (REUTERS) - She may have starred in some of the highest grossing films of all time but Harry Potter star Emma Watson's new film The Colony took just £47 (S$82) in its opening weekend at the UK box office.

Directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Florian Gallenberger and starring Daniel Brühl, the film is set in 1973.

A young German couple Lena (Watson) and Daniel (Brühl) becomes entangled in a Chilean military coup during a time when many people take to streets in protest against General Auguste Pinochet. When Daniel is abducted by Pinochet's secret police and brought to a sealed-off village called "Colonia Dignidad", led by German preacher Paul Schaefer, stewardess Lena joins the cult in an attempt to rescue her boyfriend.

One explanation for the poor sales figures is that the film opened in only three cinemas in the UK, and its distribution plan is geared towards home streaming in the form of Video on Demand.

Figures released by the British Film Institute and ticket prices at the venues it was playing indicate that just seven people paid to see the film.

Watson's next movie is expected to be a box office smash. She's starring as Belle in Disney's Beauty and the Beast which is to be released in March 2017.