After weathering a deluge of controversy before it even launched, Noah and his ark sailed over a sea of competitors and came to rest at the top of the box office. The pot of gold at the end of this rainbow? An estimated $44 million—a fairly worthless sum for Noah himself, given the lack of stores available to him. But it was a nice watery payday for Paramount Pictures.
So $44 mil doesn’t make Noah exactly the biggest hit of 2014: The LEGO Movie ($69.1 million), Divergent ($54.6 million) and 300: Rise of an Empire ($45 million) all premiered with more. But it was the biggest opening in Russell Crowe’s career (as a headliner, anyway) according to Box Office Mojo, which also noted that Noah has “already earned more than director [Darren] Aronofsky’s first four movies combined.” And if you classify Noah as a Christian movie, its open ranks fourth in the genre, just behind The Passion of the Christ and the first two Narnia movies.
‘Course, Box Office Mojo doesn’t classify Noah as a Christian flick, nor would a great many Christians. Methinks that Noah’s appearance at the top of the box office is being greeted with as many Christian jeers as cheers.
Not that anyone would notice, but a few other films showed up in the Top Five this week, too. Divergent, last week’s champ, collected another $26.5 million to finish a strong second, while Muppets Most Wanted heisted $11.4 million for third. Mr. Peabody & Sherman, in its fourth week, continues to collect some cash, earning $9.5 million.
And in fifth place we find the remarkably performing God’s Not Dead, with $9.1 million. With lots of Christians pushing their fellow believers to see God’s Not Dead instead of Noah, this fired-up-about-faith flick lost just 1.5% of its overall audience to stick in the Top Five for the second straight week, trumping Wes Anderson’s fast-rising The Grand Budapest Hotel.
Will Noah stay perched on the mountaintop for more than a week? Unlikely. Captain America: The Winter Soldier has already earned $75.2 million overseas, and Cap and his mighty shield land in Stateside theaters this weekend.
Final figures update: 1. Noah, $43.7 million; 2. Divergent, $25.6 million; 3. Muppets Most Wanted, $11.3 million; 4. Mr. Peabody & Sherman, $9.1 million; 5. God’s Not Dead, $8.8 million.
Recent Comments