While critics largely took the side of W.C.K.D. and gave the heroes of Maze Runner Sequel The Scorch Trials a bit of a roasting, the second film based on James Dashner’s YA book series was fleet enough to register with audiences and walk away with the top spot this weekend and $30.3 million, according to studio estimates.
Adding in earnings elsewhere, the movie has now made more than $108.3 million globally, even if it opened domestically lower than last year’s official effort, which made $32.5 million. So the franchise appears to have a level, which is something for the planned third film, The Death Cure, to aim for in 2017.
Second place went to Johnny Depp’s latest,** Black Mass**, with the actor playing notorious real-life Boston gangster Whitey Bulger. Depp could use a hit after the likes of Transcendence and Mortdecai, and Black Mass is doing decent business, opening with $23.3 million. The two new arrivals pushed M. Night Shyamalan’s low-budget horror comedy thriller The Visit to third place, with the film earning an additional $11.3 million for $42.3 million so far. That’s still a better second week than last weekend’s champ, The Perfect Guy, which slipped to fourth and $9.6 million. Rounding out the top five was new arrival Everest, not exactly scaling the heights and pulling in just $7.5 million. But that was on a more limited release platform of 545 screens, so there’s always a chance a wider release will help boost matters.
Sixth was faith-based drama War Room, earning $6.2 million, ahead of A Walk In The Woods in seventh with $2.7 million. **Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation **was down to eighth and $2.2 million, while Straight Outta Compton fell to ninth with $1.9 million. 10th place went to new drama Captive, which launched on 806 screens, but took in just $1.4 million.
To see Dylan O’Brien and the Maze Runner gang outrun Johnny Depp in the full chart listings, head to Box Office Mojo.