The Weekend Report: Insurgent Surges to #1 at the Box Office

In which I run down the big winners (and losers) at the box office this weekend.

Although it was a short reign, it certainly was a memorable one.  This last weekend, Cinderella was dethroned by newcomer Insurgent, helped along by the Divergent series' rabidly loyal following.  While Cinderella still did an impressive amount of business due to being the only real draw for families with young children in theaters right now (both Paddington and Sponge Out of Water rotated out of my local theater this weekend), it wasn't enough to stem the tide of teens with money to spare and time on their hands.

It really should come as no surprise to anybody why Divergent and its sequel is so popular.  It's basically the next logical permutation of dystopian tropes and a "strong" (to use the term lightly) female lead that made The Hunger Games so popular.  And although it falls pretty far from the quality of its YA forebear, it does scratch a certain itch among young movie-goers impatiently waiting for Mockingjay - Part 2 this fall.

Another new release this weekend, The Gunman, fared reasonably well against its much higher profile competition.  Whereas Insurgent's big draw was its source material, The Gunman's was its cast.  Featuring an absolutely jacked Sean Penn, Javier Bardem and Idris Elba, it promised to have one of the best casts of any movie this year.

Unfortunately, box office ranking doesn't necessarily lead to promising box office returns.  Despite its cast and decidedly more adult focus than this weekend's headliners, it raked in a disappointing $5 million, less than the similar but far superior Run All Night.  While we don't yet know what it cost to make, I would seriously doubt that The Gunman will earn enough in its run to turn a profit off of it.

In third place among new releases is Do You Believe?, a religious film brought to you by the makers of God's Not Dead.  While it never really stood out as a potential big winner at the box office, I am surprised that they decided to release it this early in the year.  If they would have waited two weeks, they would have had the rapt attention of the Easter crowd, when faith-based and family-friendly movies are always in demand.  As it currently stands, it will probably be booted out of most theaters by the time that opportunity rolls around.

There are two new options for movie-goers this weekend.  The first is Home, an animated movie about a bumblingly advanced alien who seeks sanctuary on Earth from his people.  Although its trailer only makes it out to be a so-so animated adventure that  will annoy parents as much as it will entertain kids, it stands a pretty good chance of stealing Cinderella's family-based demographic, especially since everybody who cared to has already seen Frozen Fever by now.

The other option is Get Hard, the new Will Farrell prison comedy that's hoping to draw from the same crowd that made Unfinished Business a box office bomb (making back less than 1/3 of its budget).  But with Farrel (who seems to be a bigger draw than Vaughn these days) and Kevin Hart (who's increasing popularity eventually has to earn him a hit movie) leading the way, this will invariably surpass its comedic rival, although by how much is anybody's guess.

Box Office Standings:

1) Insurgent - $54m

2)  Cinderella - $34.5m

3) Run All Night - $5.1m
4) The Gunman - $5m
5) Kingsman: The Secret Service - $4.6m
6) Do You Believe? - $4m
7) The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - $3.5m
8) Focus - $3.3m
9) Chappie - $2.7m
10) The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water - $2.4m

What's your favorite movie that's still running in theaters near you?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Join the Filmquisition on Twitter (@Filmquisition) or by subscribing to this blog.