Captain America: The Winter Soldier has topped the US box office for a third week.
Starring Chris Evans, Robert Redford and Scarlett Johansson, Captain America: The Winter Soldier made $26.2 million, beating avian animation Rio 2 into second place.
Heaven is for Real, the story of a young boy who claims to have visited heaven during a near-death experience, was number three over Easter weekend.
But Johnny Depp’s new sci-fi thriller Transcendence fared poorly.
Directed by Batman cinematographer Wally Pfister, Transcendence sees Johnny Depp playing a dying computer genius, who uploads his consciousness to a supercomputer and achieves a problematic digital afterlife.
After suffering poor reviews, the movie opened in fourth place, taking $11 million, a fraction of its $100 million production budget.
It is Johnny Depp’s third movie in a row to stumble at the box office, following last summer’s The Lone Ranger and Tim Burton’s comedy misfire Dark Shadows.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier has topped the US box office for a third week
“As we approach the summer movie season, box-office drawing power becomes more about the concept of the movie rather than its star,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for box-office tracker Rentrak.
“It may not have been so much (about) Johnny Depp, but audiences right now like brands that they know.”
The US top 10 also contained three movies with a religious theme. Following Heaven is for Real came biblical epic Noah at 9, and God’s Not Dead at 10.
God’s Not Dead, about a religious freshman college student who debates with his professor on the existence of God, has made $48 million over the last five weeks, even though it is playing in far fewer venues than the blockbuster fare at the top of the chart.
North American box office Top 10:
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier ($26.6 million)
- Rio 2 ($22.5 million)
- Heaven is for Real ($21.5 million)
- Transcendence ($11.2 million)
- A Haunted House 2 ($9.1 million)
- Draft Day ($5.9 million)
- Divergent ($5.75 million)
- Oculus ($5.2 million)
- Noah ($5 million)
- God’s Not Dead ($4.8 million) Source: Rentrak [youtube 7SlILk2WMTI 650]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier remained at the top of the US box office for a second week, holding off competition from new release, Rio 2.
The Marvel sequel, which set a new US record for an April release last week, took $41.4 million, adding to the previous week’s haul of $96 million.
Animated adventure Rio 2 was close behind, raking in $39 million on its debut, according to early estimates.
Low budget horror Oculus and football drama Draft Day were third and fourth.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier remained at the top of the US box office for a second week
Oculus took $12 million – more than double its $5 million budget – while Draft Day, starring Kevin Costner and directed by Ivan Reitman, took $9.8 million.
Globally, The Winter Soldier also continued to fly, taking $60.6 million over the weekend.
Captain America sequel has made nearly $477 million globally since its release internationally three weeks ago. That figure has already surpassed the $370 million total for 2011’s Captain America: The First Avenger.
Teen Sci-Fi movie, Divergent, took fifth position, adding $7.5 million in its fourth week to bring its cumulative total to $124.9 million.
Lionsgate announced last week that the third installment in the series will be split into two releases, one to open in March 2016 and one in March 2017. The second film will be released in 2015.
North American box office Top 5:
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier – $41.4 million
- Rio 2 – $39 million
- Oculus – $12 million
- Draft Day – $9.8 million
- Divergent – $7.5 million [youtube 7SlILk2WMTI 650]
Captain America: The Winter Soldier topped the US box office taking $96 million in its opening weekend.
Captain America sequel also claimed a new US record for an April release.
The sequel to the 2011 original film about the Marvel superhero, starring Chris Evans, toppled biblical epic Noah, which stars Russell Crowe.
Its takings exceeded the record set in 2011 by the racing movie Fast Five, which collected $86.2 million in ticket sales.
The top three was rounded off by dystopian action thriller Divergent.
Divergent, starring Shailene Woodley and Kate Winslet has earned a total of $114 million since its release in the US on March 21.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier topped the US box office taking $96 million in its opening weekend
Noah‘s $17 million over the weekend, add to its current US tally of $72 million.
But internationally the film – a big budget CGI-packed take on the story of Noah and the ark – has continued to be a controversial subject, with Malaysia and Indonesia reportedly the latest countries to ban the film.
The UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are among Middle Eastern countries which have also banned Noah as it breaks Islam’s taboo of depicting a prophet.
Another film which tackles religious subject matter, the critically panned God’s Not Dead, has continued its strong form, taking $7.7 million and rising to number four in the chart from last week’s fifth spot.
Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel, starring Ralph Fiennes, F Murray Abraham and Jude Law rounded out the top five with $6.3 million.
Originally released on March 7 to just four cinemas, Grand Budapest Hotel has now spread to 1,263 screens.
North American box office Top 5:
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier – $96 million
- Noah – $17 million
- Divergent – $13 million
- God’s Not Dead – $7.7 million
- The Grand Budapest Hotel – $6.3 million[youtube 7SlILk2WMTI 650]
