Science fiction sequel Insurgent opened in the top spot at the US box office this weekend, scoring $54m in North America on its way to a $101m global debut.
The dystopian tale, which stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Octavia Spencer and Naomi Watts, fell just short of predecessor Divergent, which made $54.6m exactly a year ago in North America. Based on the young adult trilogy of novels by Veronica Roth about a future society divided into strict orders based on social and personality type, the “Divergent Series”, as it has now been tagged, is expected to run to four films despite the first two having received roundly negative reviews.
Insurgent did succeed in knocking Disney’s huge fantasy fairytale hit Cinderella from the No 1 spot after just one week of release in North America. Kenneth Branagh’s film took $34.5m this time around, for a total of $122m.
There was disappointment in fourth place for Sean Penn’s debut as an action hero in The Gunman. Directed by Taken’s Pierre Morel, the geo-political thriller scored just $5m, a truly miserable opening given the third Taken movie managed $40.4m on debut in January.
In the film, Penn’s musclebound former sniper-turned-humanitarian worker must go on the run after discovering he is the target of a hit that may be related to an assassination he carried out eight years previously on an African political leader. He sets out on a mission across Europe in an effort to find out who wants to kill him, a challenge complicated by the fact he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. The film has received largely negative reviews from critics.
The Gunman was even beaten to third place by the similarly pitched action movie Run All Night, starring Taken’s Liam Neeson, which managed $5.1m in its second week for a total of $19.7m. The top five was rounded out by enduring Matthew Vaughn spy caper Kingsman: The Secret Service, with another $4.6m in its sixth week of release for a total of $114.6m.
The only other new film to make the top 10 this week was the religiously themed drama Do You Believe?, about a paramedic whose faith is tested when he is sued for giving a dying man a crucifix at the scene of an accident. Jonathan M Gunn’s film, which stars Sean Astin, Mira Sorvino, Lee Majors, Cybill Shepherd and Brian Bosworth, took $4m on debut.
US box office chart 20-22 March
1. The Divergent Series: Insurgent: $54m – NEW
2. Cinderella: $34.4m, $122m
3. Run All Night: $5.1m, $19.7m
4. The Gunman: $5m – NEW
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service: $4.6m, $114.5m
6. Do You Believe?: $4m – NEW
7. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel: $3.4m, $24.1m
8. Focus: $3.3m, $49.4m
9. Chappie: $2.6m, $28.3m
10. The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water: $2.3m, $158.7m
