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Monday Morning Mixer: 'Divergent' delivers on massive expectations

Posted Monday, March 24, 2014 at 12:01 PM Central

by John Couture

We've all been there. Whether it's a looming deadline at work or school, or coming up to bat in the co-ed softball league, there's been a time or two in our lives where we have been asked to perform under some heavy expectations.

Those that deliver enjoy the spoils of their victory, while those that flounder usually find themselves aimlessly walking late at night with the reverberations of their failure ringing inside their head.

Likewise, each week the box office report allows us to piece together which films will succeed and which ones will end up in the bargain bin at the local Wal-Mart. Nobody starts out aiming for the bargain bin, but sometimes the fates are against them. Of course, what constitutes success and failure is completely subjective and varies from film to film.

Although, when you're being compared to Twilight and The Hunger Games the level for success is a lofty one indeed. But you don't have to hit a home run to win the game. When I think of Divergent, I'm reminded of that old Les Brown quote, "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars."

While it's nice to reach for the $400 million box office, it's ok to fall short because you will still be a success. Now someone just has to tell that to my mom who still thinks it's not too late for me to go to law school and become President.

Some ships have definitely sailed. I promise that will be the last nautical metaphor, so sit back and enjoy a cup of your favorite beverage as we dig into this week's MMM.

Box Office 411

Did Divergent hit a home run? Nope. Did it strike out? Nope. So, what's left?

To keep with the baseball metaphor, Divergent hit a nice RBI double in the outfield gap. It was a solid hit, but nothing flashy. It earned $56 million that was markedly better than other "Next Ones" of late, but it was a bit shy of the $65 million target that the studio set for the film.

Still, the $56 million opening isn't all warts. According to Box Office Mojo, there were key indicators from this weekend's score that bode well for Divergent. The fact that the audience wasn't as heavily diluted by fans of the books as the audiences were for Twilight and The Hunger Games lends itself to actually grow the audience.

The solid CinemaScore should mean that the business won't be as front-loaded either resulting in better legs. I still think that with the better part of April ahead of it, Divergent will be able to top $160 million and I will emerge victorious in our little wager.

In second place, Muppets Most Wanted set back Muppet movies at least a decade with its miserable $16.5 million. That represents almost half of the last film's opening weekend and I think it's safe to say that this film hurt from not having Jason Segel in the driver's seat of the franchise.

The first film ended up with $88 million at the box office and by the look of things, Muppets Most Wanted will struggle to get to $50 million. Where do they go from here? Barring a return to the franchise from Segel, I think it's safe to say that this will be the last Muppets movie for some time.

The real surprise this weekend though was the unexpected success of the little film that could God's Not Dead. The film earned $8.5 million despite only playing on 780 screens. The inspirational film has either hit upon a nerve of the religious faithful or those crazy Duck Dynasty fans have flocked to see one of their heroes in a cameo role. I tend to think it's more of the latter than the former myself.

As for getting into that tricky argument, I plead the fifth. I find it best for everyone to come to their own decisions when it comes to questions of faith.

The Frozen watch continues, but a plummet this week to $0.7 million brings its box office total up to $397 million and change. I still think it will dry up just shy of that elusive $400 million milestone.

Quick Hitters

And as they say, you might as well end when you're ahead, right?