NEW YORK – The young-adult adaptation The Maze Runner raced to the top of the box-office with $32.5 million, giving a budding franchise a quick start out of the gate.
The mew release easily outpaced the $13.1 million debut of Liam Neeson’s hardboiled private eye thriller A Walk Among the Tombstones and the $11.9 million opening for the ensemble-cast dramedy This Is Where I Leave You, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The strong opening for The Maze Runner, adapted from James Dashner’s science-fiction YA novel, is a big success for a movie that cost $34 million to make and was released in the normally quiet month of September. Fox aimed to make the film — about a group of teenage boys mysteriously locked inside a giant maze — the first post-summer event movie, putting it on IMAX and large-format screens.
The Maze Runner, which drew a 51 per cent female audience despite an almost all-male cast, is now a promising franchise. Its opening was further boosted by $37.6 million internationally. The studio announced Sunday that the planned sequel, “The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” will bow Sept. 18 next year.
While Neeson’s box-office strength has been hard to beat in recent years, the darker, R-rated A Walk Among the Tombstones came in well below the track record established by his Taken series or, from earlier this year, Non-Stop. Neeson stars as a justice-seeking former NYPD detective.
This Is Where I Leave You, about a large suburban family sitting Shiva for the funeral of their patriarch, boasted an A-list ensemble cast including Tina Fey, Jason Bateman and Jane Fonda.
But such adult fare rarely lights up the box office, even when directed by a filmmaker with a proven record of attracting crowds. The film, adapted from Jonathan Trooper’s bestseller, was directed by Montreal-born Shawn Levy, who is best known for broader comedies like the Night at the Museum franchise.
No Good Deed earned another $102. million over the weekend and Dolphin Tale 2 placed fifth with $9 million.
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