Opening at #1, as expected, was the latest YA adaptation, Insurgent. The second installment of the Divergent film series opened to fairly strong numbers, but nothing spectacular for the genre, $52.3 million (very solid $13,487 average from 3,875 locations). That's slightly lower than last year's first Divergent ($54.6 million). I should note that Catching Fire improved on the first Hunger Games by $8 million ($152 million VS. $160 million), and that the second Twilight really outdid the first movie ($144 million vs. $69 million). So any hope distributor Lionsgate had at a larger audience build-up from the first movie didn't quite work here. And with 3D added, attendance was even more off. That being said, the fact it still came close is not something a lot of sequels could say they did. In the end, this is still a major success no matter what anyone says (the budget was a pricey $110 million, but overseas grosses have already nearly doubled the domestic gross). Lionsgate was hoping for a debut in the $55-$60 million range.After a strong start last weekend, Disney's Cinderella remake did lose a good chunk of its audience to Insurgent, off 48% to $35 million. However, that is a slightly better hold than Maleficent from last year and in line with Oz: The Great and Powerful's 48% second weekend decline. In 10 days, Cinderella has earned an impressive $122.5 million and seems like a lock for over $200 million.
In a very distant third, Run All Night edged out the fourth place movie by just $4,000. But, the Liam Neeson pic didn't hold well, off 54% to $5 million, for a dismal 10-day gross of $19.6 million. The major disappointment will be lucky to reach $30 million by the time it's finished. Overseas can hopefully save it.
Under-performing in fourth place was Sean Penn's The Gunman, which picked up just $5 million (abysmal $1,786 average from 2,816 locations). Despite a strong marketing effort (especially during the NCAA tournament), the action flick was unable to draw any significant attention. Reviews were negative (13% on Rotten Tomatoes) and the CinemaScore was a mixed "B-". Look for this to fade fast. Distributor Open Road Films produced it for $40 million.Continuing to be a trouper in the face of new competition, Kingsman: The Secret Service was off just 26% to $4.6 million, for a strong $114.6 million gross in 36 days. Incredibly, Kingsman has spent six-straight weekends in the Top 5.
Meanwhile, many were hoping that Do You Believe? would light the box office on fire like last year's God's Not Dead, but alas, it couldn't even come close. The Christian drama ended up in sixth place with just $3.6 million (dismal $2,721 per-venue average from 1,320 locations). That's in line with last May's Mom's Night Out in comparison to other recent faith-based movies, and is about half of Fireproof's $6.7 million debut from 2008. The marketing and awareness, however, wasn't nearly as strong as its' predecessor.. Reviews were horrible (10% on Rotten Tomatoes) also. With Easter in two weeks, Do You Believe? could stabilize very well in the coming weeks, but it may struggle to get past $20 million. The budget was probably small though, so it should end up a decent-level success regardless of how it holds from here. Pure Flix Entertainment was hoping for $5-6 million.
Continuing to show good holding power, The Second Best-Exotic Marigold Hotel was off just 38% in its third weekend to $3,5 million, for a solid $24.2 million pick-up in 17 days. Judi Dench's latest will likely finish around $35 million. Focus wasn't far behind, off 44% to $3.2 million, for a mild $49.3 million pick-up in 24 days. Chappie fell another 53% to $2.7 million, for a disappointing $28.3 million gross in 17 days.
Rounding out the Top 10 in its seventh weekend was The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, which was off 41% to $2.4 million. The latest animated hit bows out of the Top 10 with a very impressive $158.8 million picked up in 49 days, or over double the amount The Spongebob Squarepants Movie earned over 10 years ago ($85 million).
Next weekend brings one of the most diverse head-to-head match-ups of all-time in theaters. Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart pit against Jim Parsons and Rhianna as Get Hard goes up against DreamWorks Animation's Home. Also opening is the horror flick It Follows. Will all three end the month on a high note?
