LOS ANGELES (AP) - Biblical epic "Exodus: Gods and Kings" ruled the box office its opening weekend with a chart-topping $24.5 million, according to box office tracker Rentrak's Sunday estimates.
The Ridley Scott-directed tale effectively ended the three week reign of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1," which came in second with an estimated $13.2 million.
With a reported $140 million production budget, "Exodus: Gods and Kings" met expectations in its debut weekend, but it failed to live up to the precedent set by some recent biblically-themed films, including "Noah" which opened to $43.7 million in March.
Also new in theaters, "Top Five," from writer-director and star Chris Rock, opened strongly. The Paramount-distributed comedy took in an estimated $7.2 million from only 979 locations to take the fourth-place spot.