Exodus: Gods and Kings, an action-filled epic starring Christian Bale as biblical leader Moses, marched to the top of US and Canadian movie charts, collecting $24.5 million in ticket sales over the weekend.
The multitudes of moviegoers for Exodus knocked The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 to second place, according to estimates from tracking firm Rentrak.
The third film in the dystopian thriller series starring Jennifer Lawrence earned $13.2 million at domestic theatres, bringing its total to $277.4 million.
DreamWorks Animation film Penguins of Madagascar finished in the No. 3 spot with $7.3 million from Friday through Sunday, while Chris Rock’s comedy Top Five grabbed fourth place with $7.2 million. Fifth place went to Walt Disney Co’s animated film Big Hero 6 with $6.1 million.
Exodus, helmed by British director Ridley Scott, portrays Moses as a reluctant prophet who rises up against the pharaoh. While the $140 million movie fell short of Box Office Mojo’s projection of a $29 million domestic debut, its studio said it was in line with its expectations. It added $18.8 million from international markets for a weekend total of $43.3 million.
Exodus played in 3,503 theatres, while Top Five was shown in just 979. The well-reviewed film stars Rock, who also wrote and directed, as a troubled comedian who yearns to be taken seriously after becoming famous playing a character wearing a bear suit.
Comic heavyweights Cedric the Entertainer, Kevin Hart, Tracy Morgan and JB Smoove co-star along with Rosario Dawson.
One of the season’s biggest film’s, Warner Bros’ The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, has its US opening next week. It took in $117.6 million on international screens.