"Captain America" in front for third straight weekend, "Heaven is for Real" surprises, "Transcendence" bombs at box office

After a win by the smallest of margins last weekend, Captain America: the Winter Soldier topped the box office again with a $26.6 million weekend. That's a 36% drop from last weekend, which is a pretty solid hold. Word of mouth has obviously been good for this film, which has now grossed $201.5 million in the US. Worldwide, The Winter Soldier has now amassed $586.6 million and by the end of its run, Captain America will probably have about $750 million. It should pass Thor: The Dark World's total in the US by Tuesday or Wednesday. In second place was another holdover from last weekend, Fox's Rio 2. The animated sequel grossed $22.5 million this weekend which is a 43% drop from last weekend. That's a decent hold for the film, but with no direct competition, Fox has to be slightly disappointed. Through two weekends, the film has grossed a solid $75.3 million and will surely finish with $100 million or more.

The biggest surprise of the weekend was Sony's Heaven is for Real, which grossed $21.5 million in third place. The religious drama, which opened on Wednesday, received an "A" Cinemascore from audiences. And with Easter today, I wouldn't be surprised to see this estimate go up when the actuals come out tomorrow. Heaven is for Real cost $12 million to make and has now made $28.5 million. That's pretty impressive and with the success of God's Not Dead and Son of God earlier this year, I see no reason why the religious films won't stop being produced. 

Although The Legend of Hercules, I,Frankenstein and Pompeii flopped earlier this year, Transcendence became the year's first mega-budget failure, finishing in fourth place this weekend with $11.1 million. That's a horrible total for the film, which was tracking to make at least $25 million. Word of mouth certainly didn't help. Transcendence received a "C+" Cinemascore and reviews were awful on Rotten Tomatoes. I hated the film as well and I'm still baffled that it was so bad. The storyline seems so smart and interesting on paper, but it's just so muddled and confusing on film. 

A Haunted House 2 also had a pretty rough weekend, finishing in fifth place with $9.1 million. That's roughly half of what the first film made, which is pretty disappointing. Audiences didn't like it (the film received a "B-" Cinemascore) and critics weren't kind either. However, the film cost $4 million to make, so A Haunted House 3 can't be far behind. Draft Day had a decent hold this weekend, placing in sixth place with $5.9 million. After a lackluster start, Draft Day dropped only 40%. The film has now grossed $19.5 million, although no budget has been reported by Summit.

Divergent finished in seventh place with $5.7 million. The YA adaptation has now grossed $133.9 million, which is slightly disappointing given the rabid fanbase. We'll see if the sequel, Insurgent, can do a little bit better. Oculus dropped 57% to eighth place this weekend and grossed $5.2 million. The horror film has now grossed $21.1 million. Noah finished in ninth place with $5 million. Due to the religious holidays this weekend, Noah probably saw a small bump. The film has now grossed $93.2 million and will likely crawl to $100 million. And finally, God's Not Dead rounded out the top ten with $4.8 million. The low budget hit has now grossed $48.3 million. 

Also, Disney's Bears grossed $4.7 million in eleventh place. That's the worst start for a Disneynature film so far, but the film did receive a promising "A" Cinemascore. I really did enjoy the movie and I encourage you to check it out if it interests you. 

Next weekend sees the release of The Other Woman, The Quiet Ones and Brick Mansions. Here are my early predictions: 

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier- $17.1 million

2. The Other Woman- $15.3 million

3. Rio 2- $14.5 million

4. Heaven is for Real- $14 million

5. The Quiet Ones- $13.6 million

6. Brick Mansions- $10.1 million

7. Transcendence- $5.2 million

8. A Haunted House 2- $3.9 million

9. Draft Day- $3.8 million

10. Divergent- $3.6 million