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 Walt Disney Co family comedy "Muppets Most Wanted" finished
in second place, nabbing $16.5 million from Friday through
Sunday, according to estimates provided by Rentrak. Animated
"Mr. Peabody & Sherman," produced by Dreamworks Animation Inc,
took the No. 3 slot with $11.7 million.
"Divergent" is adapted from a popular series of young adult
novels by newcomer author Veronica Roth. Ahead of the weekend,
forecasters had predicted the film would debut with between $50
million and $68 million in North American (U.S. and Canadian)
ticket sales.
Shailene Woodley stars in "Divergent" as Tris Prior, a teenager
who doesn't fit in to a faction because she has multiple
dominant personality traits, making her a threat to the
government. She chooses to join the Dauntless faction of
warriors who defend the society's inhabitants. British actor
Theo James plays Four, Tris' mentor and love interest.
The debut of "Divergent" fell short of the box office heights of
two other young adult franchises. "Hunger Games" started with a
massive $152.5 million in March 2012 while "Twilight" opened
with $69.6 million in November 2008.
 Lions Gate said Friday it was confident "Divergent" would become
an important franchise for the company and it was moving ahead
with the second film in the series, called "Insurgent," which
will reach theaters in March 2015.
Noting that the "Divergent" opening was shy of blockbusters
"Hunger Games" and "Twilight," Jeff Bock, senior box office
analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co., said "$56 million is a great
opening for any film, and virtually locked down the proposed
trilogy."
"This is something to build on for the series, and with the cast
expected to be in high demand, the 'Divergent' legacy will
continue to grow," Bock added.
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Richie Fay, the studio's president of domestic distribution,
said, "We're very pleased with the outcome for the franchise
launch."
The movie's A+ CinemaScore grade from the under-18 audience bodes
well for the coming weeks as spring break and Easter school holidays
approach, Fay said, noting, "The young adult audience has been
underserved in the last couple of weeks."
The company spent $85 million to produce "Divergent," plus $40
million to $45 million on marketing, according to a person with
knowledge of the film's budget. The studio has recouped about $70
million of the cost through international licensing deals, the
person said.
"Muppets Most Wanted," a sequel to a 2011 "Muppets" movie, stars
Ricky Gervais, Tina Fey and Ty Burrell alongside Miss Piggy, Kermit
the Frog and other classic Muppet characters. In the new film,
Kermit is imprisoned in a Russian gulag in a case of mistaken
identity, while an evil impostor travels with his muppet friends on
a European tour.
"Mr. Peabody and Sherman" brought its global sales through three
weekends to $172 million. The movie was distributed by 20th Century
Fox.
Rounding out the domestic charts, Greek warrior sequel "300: Rise of
an Empire" landed in fourth place with $8.7 million, while the
independent faith-based new release "God's Not Dead" pulled in $8.6
million to claim the No. 5 spot.
Warner Brothers, a unit of Time Warner, released "300: Rise of an
Empire."
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles and Chris Michaud in New
York; editing by Sophie Hares and Jan Paschal)
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