“Divergent,” which opened in theaters March 20, is bringing in impressive box office results and a wide variety of audience members. The action-packed teen flick keeps audience members on the edge of their seats and practically begs for the release of its sequel at the end.
According to Lionsgate, “Divergent” brought in $4.9 million during its Thursday night showings and reached $22.8 million on Friday. “Divergent” dominated over other movies that played the same weekend with “Muppets Most Wanted” making $4.6 million and “Mr. Peabody and Sherman” reaching only $2.7 million on Friday. This gap in earnings could be partially caused by the large fan base “Divergent” has and the wide audience it speaks to.
“Divergent” is a film adaptation of the first novel in the bestselling series by Veronica Roth. It is filled with action, some romance, and strong messages about not giving up. The novel is set in a dystopian version of Chicago where society functions by separating people based on personality traits. The society is based on a system of suppressing human desires and only embracing the qualities of the group or “faction” they choose.
The story is set around a teen girl named Beatrice Prior who learns that she is in danger because her personality does not fit one particular group, but is a combination of three. In the climax of the movie, she teams up with new friends as well as old allies to save her previous faction from a genocide planned by corrupt members of the government.
The movie stayed close to “Divergent” the book, which was one of my favorite books, so I was satisfied with the finished product. I really enjoyed the cast members that were chosen for the film because they fit the characters from the novel perfectly. Theo James was a hit with all the ladies and I couldn’t have pictured anyone better to play Four. I shared a common doubt that Shailene Woodley could rise above her days from “Secret Life of the American Teenager,” but she turned out to be a great fit for Tris as well.
This is one of several young adult novels that have been adapted into movies recently including “Vampire Academy,” “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones,” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.” The young adult movie trend will continue this year as “The Fault in Our Stars” hits theaters in June followed by “The Giver” in August and “Maze Runner” in September.