Box Office: 'Divergent' Opens Big, 'Muppets' Underwhelms
After a period in which it seemed like every attempt at creating a new Young Adult film franchise was doomed to fail, Summit/Lionsgate may have just found the new Twilight / The Hunger Games: Divergent has opened with $56 million, taking the No. 1 spot and ending the long run of failed Young Adult films.
Females made up roughly 69% of the audience, with half of the overall audience skewing over the age of 25, proving that the film has much wider appeal than many predicted. Directed by Neil Burger and based on the best-selling book by Veronica Roth, Divergent is expected to recoup its $85 million budget within the next few weeks, particularly when the film opens overseas on April 4.
"This opened exactly where we needed it to be to launch a new franchise," said Summit/Lionsgate distribution chief Richie Fay.
Credit: Summit/Lionsgate
Yet not every potential franchise film had the same good fortune this weekend. Disney's Muppets Most Wanted seriously underperformed, due in large part to stiff competition from fellow family films such as Mr. Peabody & Sherman and The LEGO Movie. While Muppets Most Wanted opened at No. 2, its $16.5 million haul is just a fraction of the $41 million debut for The Muppets in 2011.
Dave Hollis, chief of distribution at Disney, admitted the opening was "definitely disappointing," particularly considering the prerelease buzz that had the studio optimistic for an opening above $20 million. Of course, Hollis noted that there isn't really a comparison between Muppets Most Wanted and the first film in the rebooted franchise, since that first film was released in the more family-friendly Thanksgiving holiday. Hollis expects the film will make up ground in the coming week thanks to spring break among school-age youths.
Other surprises at the box office: in a success on the level of Son of God, Christian drama God's Not Dead opened strong at No. 5 with $8.6 million. The film is based on the Rice Broocks book of the same name, and stars Shane Harper as a college student whose philosophy professor orders him to sign a statement declaring that "God is Dead." The student refuses on the grounds that God exists, and so he's forced to defend his position in a series of debates. The small-scale indie film, directed by Harold Cronk, stars Kevin Sorbo, Jim Gleason, David A.R. White and Dean Cain.
“We couldn’t be happier with the huge support God's Not Dead has experienced in our opening weekend. On such few screens to compete so strongly on a national platform says so much about the film, the filmmakers, and the target audience who love this movie. We plan to expand next week to reach out to the tens of thousands demanding to see God's Not Dead in their city," said Mark Borde, co-president of Freestyle Releasing.
It was also good news for Need for Speed, which opened to disappointing numbers last week, yet saw promising business this weekend from overseas box office. The action pic grossed a solid $29.2 million from 55 markets, bringing its foreign total to an encouraging $93.8 million. Things were similarly solid for Mr. Peabody & Sherman, which came in at No. 3 in its third weekend, grossing $11.7 million to bring its domestic total north of $81 million. This was enough to outrank 300: Rise of an Empire, which settled in at No. 4 with $8.7 million to brings its North American total to $93.8 million.
Check out the full top 10 below:
1. Divergent ($56 million)
2. Muppets Most Wanted ($16.5 million)
3. Mr. Peabody & Sherman ($11.7 million)
4. 300: Rise of an Empire ($8.7 million)
5. God's Not Dead ($8.6 million)
6. Need for Speed ($7.8 million)
7. The Grand Budapest Hotel ($6.8 million)
8. Non-Stop ($6.3 million)
9. The Lego Movie ($4.1 million)
10. The Single Moms Club ($3.1 million)