box office

YOUR WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Divergent bowed with an impressive $56m this weekend; although it didn’t hit a Hunger Games-like peak, the latest dystopian YA adaptation looks set to do boffo biz, thanks to better-than-average gender and age distribution in audience and strong word of mouth. The #2 debut, Muppets Most Wanted, wasn’t felt strongly by audiences. Meanwhile, the Top 5’s other new release, Christian drama God’s Not Dead, appears to be a surprise hit.

1. Divergent Lionsgate $56m 3,936/$14,228 avg. (debut)
2. Muppets Most Wanted Buena Vista $16.5m 3,194/$5,170 avg. (debut)
3. Mr. Peabody & Sherman Fox $11.7m (-46%) 3,607/$3,244 avg. (week 3)
4. 300: Rise of an Empire Warner Bros. $8.6m (-55%) 3,085/$2,809 (week 3)
5. God’s Not Dead Freestyle $8.5m 780/$10,979 avg. (debut)

Fundamentalists were quick to find scriptural reasons for God's Not Dead’s initial success; meanwhile, the $13k per-screen average achieved by The Grand Budapest Hotel (#7 this week with $6.7m) has fueled widespread belief in Wes Anderson’s divinity. (3/24a)