Summary Dystopian thriller 'Insurgent' blasted its way to top at the North American box-office this weekend.
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Dystopian thriller "Insurgent" blasted its way to top spot at the North American box-office this weekend as Sean Penn action movie "The Gunman" fired a blank, estimated figures showed Sunday.
The second big-screen adaptation based on Veronica Roth s best-selling "Divergent" trilogy, "Insurgent" opened with $54 million according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
The film stars rising talent Shailene Woodley as the youthful heroine Beatrice Prior battling a powerful alliance threatening her world in a post-apocalyptic Chicago.
The opening numbers for "Insurgent" relegated Disney s live action "Cinderella" remake to second spot.
The movie, starring Lily James as the enchanted princess and Cate Blanchett as her wicked stepmother, took $34.5 million in its second weekend.
Action flick "Run All Night," featuring grizzled tough-guy Liam Neeson playing a hit man going up against the mob, was third with $5.1 million in its second weekend.
But it was a disappointing debut for Oscar-winning actor Penn s latest film, "The Gunman", which earned only $5 million on opening.
Despite a stellar supporting cast featuring Javier Bardem, Idris Elba, Ray Winstone and Mark Rylance, the movie by "Taken" director Pierre Morel has suffered a critical mauling to date, dismissed by one reviewer as a "dull, generic retread."
Fifth place was occupied by British spy spoof "Kingsman: The Secret Service," which took $4.6 million in its fifth week.
Sixth spot meanwhile went to religious drama "Do You Believe", another debutant this week with a disappointing opening haul. The film starring Mira Sorvino and Sean Astin earned just $4 million.
Sequel "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" featuring Judi Dench, Maggie Smith and Richard Gere, pulled in just under $3.5 million for seventh place.
"Focus," a con-artist flick featuring Will Smith as a crook who takes on a protege played by Margot Robbie had $3.3 million in estimated ticket sales for eighth.
Artificial intelligence thriller "Chappie" continued its slide down the rankings, earning $2.5 million to finish ninth.
"The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water," remained a presence on the box office charts, taking in $2.3 million in ticket sales to round out the top 10.
