LOS ANGELES (AP) – Biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings ruled the box office its opening weekend with a chart-topping $24.5 million, according to box office tracker Rentrak’s estimates today.
The Ridley Scott-directed tale effectively ended the three week reign of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1, which came in second with an estimated $13.2 million.
With a reported $140 million production budget, Exodus: Gods and Kings met expectations in its debut weekend, but it failed to live up to the precedent set by some recent biblically-themed films, including Noah which opened to $43.7 million in March.
Also new in theatres, Top Five, from writer-director and star Chris Rock, opened strongly. The Paramount-distributed comedy took in an estimated $7.2 million from only 979 locations to take the fourth-place spot.
