'Insurgent' in top spot; 'The Gunman' misfires.

• Author: Bahr, Lindsey
• Position: News

Byline: LINDSEY BAHR

LOS ANGELES -- Sean Penn's ''The Gunman'' was no match for the rebel kids of ''Insurgent.''

The second installment in the ''Divergent'' series easily topped the box office with $54 million from 3,875 theaters, according Rentrak estimates Sunday. Penn's geopolitical thriller stumbled with only $5 million.

While the second films in both the ''Hunger Games'' and the ''Twilight'' series boasted opening weekend gains over the first, ''Insurgent's'' opening nearly matches that of its predecessor, ''Divergent,'' which debuted to $54.6 million just last year.

Many predicted a bit of growth for this second film, which sees the return of stars Shailene Woodley, Theo James, and Kate Winslet to author Veronica Roth's dystopian world. But, both distributor Lionsgate and box office analysts see the consistency as a good thing.

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