'Zootopia' tramples 'Allegiant' at movie box office

LOS ANGELES -- "Zootopia" continues to run wild over its rivals in its third weekend in theaters, stomping all over the launch of "Allegiant," the third film in the "Divergent" series.

The animated Disney film featuring the voices of Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin earned $38 million this weekend to take first place again, according to comScore estimates Sunday. It's earned $201.8 million domestically.

It stole the thunder from "The Divergent Series: Allegiant," starring Shailene Woodley and Theo James, which opened in second place with an estimated $29.1 million from 3,740 locations.

It's a new low for the YA series based on Veronica Roth's novels, which both opened north of $50 million, but not unexpected. Lionsgate broke up Roth's final book into two movies, the second of which, "Ascendant," launches next year. And, like "Twilight" and "The Hunger Games," it's not unusual for Part 1 of a 2-film finale to fall short of some of its predecessors.

"It's had mixed results in general, but it's also had great results, so I can't really fault a studio for going with that strategy," said Paul Dergarabedian, comScore's senior media analyst. "It's like skipping ahead in a book. I think it's a strategy that may want to be reconsidered. But there are other factors -- is the movie good? What are the conditions of the marketplace?"

Dergarabedian also noted fickleness of the teen audience might be playing into the big drop from the previous films.

But while the future of drawn-out YA franchises might be looking as bleak as the dystopias they portray, one genre that seems to produce near-consistent hits is that of the faith-based film.

The latest entry, Sony's "Miracles From Heaven," took third place this weekend with an $15 million. The film, starring Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah, opened Wednesday. It's earned $18.6 million to date, and cost only $13 million to produce.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to comScore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released today.

1. "Zootopia," $38 million ($64.8 million international).

2. "The Divergent Series: Allegiant," $29.1 million ($22 million international).

3. "Miracles From Heaven," $15 million.

4. "10 Cloverfield Lane," $12.5 million ($5 million international).

5. "Deadpool," $8 million ($6.1 million international).

6. "London Has Fallen," $6.9 million ($10 million international).

7. "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot," $2.8 million.

8. "The Perfect Match," $1.9 million.

9. "The Brothers Grimsby," $1.4 million ($2.6 million international).

10. "The Revenant," $1.2 million ($36.4 million international).