“Even beyond the notion that there aren’t many in-progress young adult fantasy franchises left at the moment, “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” has one big advantage this time around: It’s a sequel to a pretty darn good original”, Mendelson wrote.
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The fourth place spot was filled by last week’s surprise victor ‘The ideal Guy’.
R-rated action crime drama “Black Mass“, starring Johnny Depp, debuted at No. 2 with $23.3 million.
“It’s all about Johnny Depp”.
Universal’s “Everest” began its box office climb on Friday with a respectable $2.3 million at 545 premium large-format locations, which should give the mountaineering epic around $7.1 million for the weekend as the studio attempts to build buzz for a wide release next weekend. The $34 million figure would be about 5% above the $32.5 million opening weekend for “The Maze Runner on the same weekend a year ago”. Depp’s performance is astounding, as also is that of the entire supporting cast, which includes Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Sarsgaard and Dakota Johnson.
Third place goes to M. Night Shyamalan’s latest movie, the fight flick “The Visit“, with over $11 million.
“The Giver”, for example, falls squarely in line with “The Hunger Games”, “Divergent” and the like, but only managed $45 million total at the domestic box office and no one is clamoring for a sequel. The film, which stars Sanaa Lathan as a woman whose relationship with a charming new man (Michael Ealy) turns into a risky obsession, has earned $41.4 million so far. Based on a true story, Captive stars Kate Mara as a woman taken hostage by an escaped convict (David Oyelowo).
Wes Ball, who directed the first two “Maze Runner” films and will direct the upcoming film, had teased some details about the project.
In the indie world, Bleecker Street debuted “Pawn Sacrifice”, a look a troubled chess great Bobby Fischer, to $206,879 for a per-screen average of $6,269, while Lionsgate got drug war thriller “Sicario” off to a sizzling start of $146,494 from just six engagements. Here’s our list of the top box office picks of the weekend, read on to find out more. “But when he connects with the bat, he hits it out of the park”, said Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros. distribution executive vice president, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
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Maze Runner 2 (reviewed here) came in first place with $30.3 million.
