Divergent does enough money to guarantee Insurgent. Muppets Most Wanted struggles at the US box office though...
Plans were already afoot for a full trilogy of movies based on Veronica Roth's trilogy of Divergent books, but if there were any lingering doubts, the performance of the first film at the box office will have laid them to rest.
Several have tried and failed to launch new 'young adult' franchises in the light of the success of Twilight and The Hunger Games, but Neil Burger's film of Divergent is the first for a while to break through. Starring Shailene Woodley, the movie topped the US box office over the weekend with a take of $56m. Summit Entertainment will be pressing ahead with the next movie - Insurgent - forthwith (although Neil Burger will not be directing). Divergent's rollout elsewhere in the world begins in earnest this week.
Worryingly for those of us wanting more Muppets films, Muppets Most Wanted underperformed at the US box office the weekend. It opened to $16.5m, a good deal down on The Muppets. The movie - hurt by the enduring success of Mr Peabody & Sherman in the States - will need to do some big business elsewhere to get Disney thinking of making the next film anytime soon.
Divergent, meanwhile - whilst not generating numbers near the level of Twilight and The Hunger Games - is a solid hit, overcoming unenthusiastic reviews (including our own). Expect the flow of young adult franchises to continue, then...
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