Unfortunately, The YA series Divergent has become somewhat of forgotten franchise ever since the mixed reception the first film received back in 2014. Subsequently there’s been two sequels, with the most recent being Allegiant. While it may be unsurprising to some, this third installment is continuing to show major signs of fatigue. Released this past Friday, the film was critically panned and has been performing weakly at the box office.
Of course the most successful of the genre has been The Hunger Games, which also had four installments but was able to garner critical praise and do well with audiences. Allegiant‘s opening box office was approximately $29 million over its first weekend, marking an almost fifty-percent drop from its predecessor, Insurgent. With the final film, Ascendant, scheduled for summer of 2017, Lionsgate has decided to cut its relatively-high budget of $110 million down to a safer figure.
It seems like even the studio is aware of the series’ dwindling interest, trying to do anything possible to limit the amount of risk that another potential flop could have. With their even bigger misfire Gods of Egypt released last month, the studio is very much in need of a win. What’s interesting about the genre is that the Divergent films have a similar structure and style to that of The Hunger Games, but that could be a reason why it’s performing so poorly, simply from moviegoers growing tired of the genre.
After this type of move by a studio, it’s possible there could be a decreasing amount of YA films in the coming years, especially if an entire series is needed to expand the source material. There’s no official budget for Ascendant but depending on just how long Allegiant stays in theaters may effect how much money the final film will lose.
The Divergent Series: Allegiant is currently playing in theaters, followed by Ascendant on June 9, 2017.
Leave a Comment