LOS ANGELES (AP) – Sean Penn’s The Gunman was no match for the rebel kids of Insurgent.
The second instalment in the Divergent series easily topped the box office with $54 million from 3 875 theatres, according to Rentrak estimates Sunday. Penn’s geopolitical thriller stumbled with only $5 million.
While the second films in both the Hunger Games and the Twilight series boasted opening weekend gains over the first, Insurgent’s opening nearly matches that of its predecessor, Divergent, which debuted to $54.6 million just last year.
Many predicted a bit of growth for this second film, which sees the return of stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet to author Veronica Roth’s dystopian world. But, both distributor Lionsgate and box office analysts see the consistency as a good thing.
According to Lionsgate, 60 per cent of audiences were female.
Disney’s live-action Cinderella, meanwhile, fell 49 per cent in Week 2 to take second place with $34.5 million. The PG-rated film has earned an impressive $122 million domestically to date.
Also in its second weekend in theatres, the R-rated Liam Neeson-led action film Run All Night, managed a slight edge over Open Road’s The Gunman. Neeson’s film, a Warner Bros. release, dropped 54 per cent with its $5.1 million weekend, while Penn’s film debuted in fourth place with only $5 million.
Kingsman: The Secret Service, one of the better performing R-rated releases in recent weeks, rounded out the top five with $4.6 million in its sixth weekend in theatres. The 20th Century Fox film has now earned over $114.6 million domestically.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Rentrak.
1. Insurgent, $54 million.
2. Cinderella, $34.5 million.
3. Run All Night, $5.1 million.
4. The Gunman, $5 million.
5. Kingsman: The Secret Service, $4.6 million.
6. Do You Believe? $4 million.
7. The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, $3.5 million.
8. Focus, $3.3 million.
9. Chappie, $2.7 million.
10. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, $2.4 million.