"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" grossed $22 million its opening weekend, less than half of the original "Ghost Rider's" Presidents' Day 2007 take.

"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance" opened across the country last week for Presidents' Day Weekend. The Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor directed "Ghost Rider" sequel was expected to make a big splash for its debut, with early projections indicating the film would take the box office with $30 million. While the opening gross of the Nicolas Cage sequel fell short at $22 million, it still had a competitive third-place finish at this weekend's box office, settling in just behind "Safe House" at $24 million and "The Vow" at $23.6 million.

The original "Ghost Rider" grossed over $45 million for its opening weekend five years ago in 2007. However, the other films opening Presidents' Day Weekend 2007 were Disney's "Bridge to Terabithia," "Music and Lyrics" and "Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls" -- a contrast from the competition of 2012 which also included "This Means War" and "The Secret World of Arietty." "Spirit of Vengeance" grossed less than 50 percent of "Ghost Rider's" opening weekend take. While the original boasted a $110 million budget, "Spirit of Vengeance" cost $57 million to produce, a little over half the original's cost.

In the CBR Review of "Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance", Katie Calautti gave the sequel favorable marks, praising Cage and co-star Idris Elba's performance and called the film "pretty insane fun. The effects are solid, Cage's performance is off the charts and the pace is relentless. It's Neveldine and Taylor doing Marvel -- what more could you want?"

"Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance," currently in theaters, stars Nicolas Cage, Idris Elba, Johnny Whitworth, Fergus Riodan and Violante Placido and was directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor.