‘Divergent’ carves its own path
Solid opening means a ‘franchise is born’
Divergent broke from the boxoffice pack this weekend, and though it did not have as strong a debut as Twilight or The Hunger Games, it probably spawned a young-adult franchise.
The best-seller adaptation captured $56 million, according to studio estimates from Rentrak.
The debut fell in line with analysts’ expectations, though short of the openings of 2008’s Twilight ($70 million) and 2012’s The Hunger Games ($153 million).
While the $85 million Divergent didn’t capture those kind of numbers, the opening was plenty enough to claim the box office, and analysts say the haul probably ensures an adaptation of Veronica Roth’s entire trilogy. Production has begun on the next chapter, Insurgent, which is ex- pected March 20, 2015.
“A franchise is born,” says Rentrak’s Paul Dergarabedian. “Most franchises are started by solid, but not necessarily record, alltime debuts.”
The opening breaks the string of young-adult films that flopped before they could launch franchises, including The Host, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and Ender’s Game.
“This is finally a novel adaptation that built a solid fan base and is more than a Twilight redux,” says Tim Briody, analyst for Box Office Prophets.
The news wasn’t so bright for Muppets Most Wanted. The sequel claimed $16.5 million and second, well below its $26 million projections. “That’s bad news for what was thought to be a rejuvenated franchise,” Briody says.
The biggest surprise was God’s Not Dead, the independent religious film released on 780 screens. The movie, about a college freshman wrangling with faith, made $8.6 million and fifth.
The animated Mr. Peabody & Sherman was third with $11.7 million, while 300: Rise of an Empire took fourth with $8.7 million.
Final figures are expected today.