![641a4439-Box Office](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2018/09/1200/675/theo-james-in-insurgent-ap660.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Theo James, left, and Shailene Woodley appear in a scene from the film, "The Divergent Series: Insurgent." (The Associated Press)
“Insurgent” topped the weekend box office with $54 million, but its opening will likely fall short of the numbers put up a year ago by the first film in the “Divergent” series.
That’s a disappointment for Lionsgate, the studio behind the adaptations of Veronica Roth’s best-selling books about a dystopian future. It hoped that the franchise would be able to build on its initial start, aided by star Shailene Woodley’s higher profile following the success of “The Fault in Our Stars.” Going into the weekend, Lionsgate had been projecting an opening of between $57 million to $60 million.
“Insurgent” cost $110 million to produced, roughly $25 more than “Divergent” racked up in production fees. “Divergent” opened to $54.6 million before going on to make $288.7 million globally.
Internationally, “Insurgent” grossed an estimated $47 million in 76 markets.
The weekend’s other major wide release, “The Gunman” fired blanks, picking up a meagre $5 million and seemingly deep-sixing Sean Penn’s plans to be an aging action star. Open Road distributed the film in 2,816 theaters and had expected a debut in the $8 million range. “The Gunman’s” modest results were good enough for a third place finish in an otherwise down weekend.
Pure Fix’s “Do You Believe?” also debuted last weekend, operating from the same playbook as “God’s Not Dead,” the low-budget, faith-based film that stunned box office analysts with a massive debut last spring. “Do You Believe?” couldn’t hit the same figures, earning $4 million across 1,320 theaters.
Last weekend’s champ “Cinderella” showed some endurance despite the challenge from “Insurgent” capturing second place on the charts with roughly $34.5 million. That was a 49% dip from its premiere and brings the Disney film’s domestic total to $122 million.
In fourth place, Liam Neeson’s “Run All Night” fell 54% to $5.1 million. The Warner Bros. action thriller has generated $19.7 million after two weeks in theaters. “Kingsman: The Secret Service” continued to be the year’s quietest blockbuster, adding $4.6 million to its pot and nabbing fifth place on the chart. The Fox spy adventure has made $114.6 million since opening in February.
Horror film “It Follows” capitalized on strong reviews to earn $352,248, bringing its total to $576,275. Radius-TWC shook up the film’s release pattern. It expanded from just four theaters last weekend to 32 screens and will roll out to over 1,000 next weekend. Because of the strong response, the studio is postponing the picture’s VOD release.
Among art house releases, Bleecker Street’s “Danny Collins” bowed to $73,157 in five theaters for a per-screen average of $14,631. The film stars Al Pacino as an aging rock star.