LOS ANGELES, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- "Miami Vice", a thriller at a cost of at least 235 million U.S. dollars to make and market, could lose as much as 30 million dollars, a newspaper report said on Monday.

The show was the biggest bet of the year for Universal Pictures to sizzle at the box office, but earnings dashed such hopes.

A little more than a month after its debut, "Miami Vice" has grossed only 63 million dollars at the U.S. box office. An abrupt fall-off in attendance has dimmed the prospect that the film could muster 100 million dollars in domestic receipts, as Universal had projected, the Los Angeles Times said.

The film is a remake of the iconic 1980s TV cop show depicting undercover police breaking a drug smuggling net.

"The studio underestimated the inherent challenges of translating 'Miami Vice' to the big screen," Universal Pictures Chairman Marc Shmuger was quoted as saying.

"As a commercial proposition, it had a familiar title but not a really deeply appealing connection to the larger audience."

"Miami Vice" was doomed not only by its failure to resonate with young audiences but also by the cost of talent - a recurring complaint among studio owners this summer. The biggest winner in the case of "Miami Vice" could be director Michael Mann, who will make at least 6 million dollars, plus a percentage of the box-office receipts, before Universal makes a dime, according to the paper.

Universal is expected to eke out a slight profit this year, thanks to box-office winners such as "The Break-Up" and "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," which grossed 189 million and 147 million dollars worldwide respectively, said the paper.

But the studio has fallen behind most of its rivals in domestic market share this year after ranking third last year, according to Exhibitor Relations Co., a box-office tracking firm. Enditem