Weekend Box Office Report: ‘Divergent’ Leaves ‘Muppets Most Wanted’ in the Dust

If the main goal of 'Divergent' was to snag a large portion of the audience for 'The Hunger Games,' it looks like it succeeded. Although it didn't reach the absurd heights of Katniss' two movies, Shailene Woodley's dystopian adventure effortlessly nabbed the number one spot and, unless something bad happens next week, announced the arrival of a new big franchise.

With a $56 million opening, 'Divergent' announced its arrival with a bang, especially since its budget is relatively modest by blockbuster standards. Unless its audience turns on it next week, the already-announced next film in the series should arrive on schedule. It's the exact kind of hit that the extremely talented Woodley, the heir-apparent to Emma Stone and Jennifer Lawrence, has been waiting for and proof that kids just can't get enough of young girls battling evil governments in twisted futures.

Meanwhile, 'Muppets Most Wanted' opened in second place with a disappointing $16 million, which already has some declaring that Kermit and company's grand comeback has already ended. While that's not a great number, the film was made for only $50 million and it may have a shot of making that number back if the winds blow in the right direction. It's rough, but the next few weeks will be the big deciding factor in the Muppets' fate.

There were two other big surprises this weekend. The first of them is the almost-unknown 'God's Not Dead' launching itself into the fifth spot with $8 million. The other success was 'The Grand Budapest Hotel,' which jumped up 85%, earning $6 million in seventh place for a total of $12 million. If its legs remain strong, it should replicate the sleeper success of 'Moonrise Kingdom' from two years ago.

Everything else fell where you'd expect it to fall. 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman' took in $11 million, bringing its total to $81 million and making $100 million a certainty. '300: Rise of an Empire' continued on a similar trajectory, grossing $8 million for a $93 million total. 'Need For Speed' plummeted to sixth place, earning $7 million for a dismal $30 million total and officially putting Aaron Paul's blockbuster career in cement shoes. 'Non-Stop' kept raking in the pennies, but it should fall just short of $100 million when all is said and done. 'The LEGO Movie' still kept chasing that $250 million mark, but the amount of competition is making it harder. Finally, Tyler's Perry's 'Single Mom's Club' limped into 10th place, solidifying itself as one of the filmmaker's least successful movies.