‘The Divergent Series: Insurgent’ Takes In $54 Million On Opening Weekend, Nearly Matches First Film

It’s around the second movie in a series that we normally get to see what kind of a franchise the series will ultimately be. Will the franchise exceed all expectations like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, or will it peter out like Percy Jackson: Sea Of Monsters? So where did The Divergent Series:Insurgent fall on this spectrum? Well, somewhere in the middle.

Box Office Mojo is reporting that despite its slow start, Insurgent will likely close out the weekend at $54 million dollars. This haul comes in just $3 million under the $57 million prediction, but about $5 million higher than what it was tracked at after Friday’s low numbers.

The real interesting thing to note, however, is that Insurgent earned only $600,000 less than Divergent, which was released on the same exact day last year. As far as what these kind of numbers mean for a sequel, Box Office Mojo goes into a bit more detail.

“When it comes to sequels, dropping a bit from one installment to the next is actually above-average. Still, if there is going to be a bump, it usually takes place between the first and second installment, so it’s a bit disappointing that it didn’t happen here.”

As of this writing, Insurgent has taken in just over $100 million worldwide, and Box Office Mojo has the film’s budget slated at $110 million. With that in mind, there is no doubt YA adaptation will be able to recoup its money, but it by no means a “knock out of the park,” especially considering Insurgent‘s budget was $25 million more than the original.

This is also disappointing considering the fact that actress Shailene Woodley has skyrocketed in popularity in the year between Divergent and Insurgent. According to Variety, Lionsgate was banking on the actress’s higher profile to help elevate the box office earnings.

“Call it the Fault in Our Stars effect. When Divergent premiered in 2014, Woodley was a relative neophyte whose biggest previous role had been a well-received supporting part in 2011’s The Descendants and her work as a teen mother on ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager.”

Sadly, this effect seems to have had little to no effect on Insurgent‘s opening weekend.

All that being said, a $54 million opening is still a success in Lionsgate’s book, and will likely guarantee the future of Divergent franchise to the end.

Did you make it out to see The Divergent Series: Insurgent in theaters? Do you think it deserved to bring in more? Let us know your thoughts below.