Box Office: 'Noah' Claims the Top Spot, Arnold's Latest Bombs
Director Darren Aronofsky has scored one of his biggest successes to date with the biblical epic Noah, which opened with $44 million in North America to take the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office.
The film was every bit as strong overseas, particularly in Russia, where it landed the biggest opening ever for a non-sequel with its $17 million debut. Coupled with its $33.6 million from 21 markets across the globe, Noah has already grossed an international total of $51 million, bringing its worldwide gross to $95.1 million. The film, which cost more than $125 million to make, is already well on its way to recouping its budget -- and then some.
But did anything else make a splash?
Credit: Paramount Pictures
Well, Divergent was able to remain steady, taking in $26.5 million for the No. 2 spot, despite a 51 percent decline in audience turnout. The Young Adult action epic has already grossed $95.3 million, which is promising for the franchise, despite its failure to reach Hunger Games numbers. (And really, I'm not sure even Summit Entertainment or Lionsgate expected it would)
Yet while Divergent and Noah looked to reach $100 million worldwide, one action-oriented film actually did surpass that milestone this weekend: Warner Bros. and Legendary's 300: Rise of an Empire, which finished Sunday with $101.1 million in total sales across four weekends. Sure, it's still barely in the top 10, finishing at No. 9 with $4.3 million; but the fact that it continues to draw a solid audience a month into its run is pretty impressive.
However, with one action-oriented film's victory comes a pretty high profile defeat for an action legend...
Arnold Schwarzenegger faced another setback in his quest to resurrect his film career, as his latest movie pretty much bombed in the worst way imaginable. Sabotage took in just $5.3 million from 2,486 theaters, making this Schwarzenegger's worst opening in nearly 30 years, and the worst opening ever for a title launching in more than 2,000 theaters. Is it all over for Arnold on the big screen? In some ways, it seems as though the generation that grew up on his movies has already deserted him, while the new generation of moviegoers just have no nostalgia for Arnold, nor any desire to seek out his old films, much less see his new ones in the theater. Perhaps he'd be better served as a key supporting player in future action films, as opposed to being the star used to launch a new title, since his drawing power has clearly diminished.
Check out the full weekend Top 10 below:
1. Noah ($44 million)
2. Divergent ($26.5 million)
3. Muppets Most Wanted ($16.5 million)
4. Mr. Peabody & Sherman ($9.5 million)
5. God's Not Dead ($9.1 million)
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel ($8.8 million)
7. Sabotage ($5.3 million)
8. Need for Speed ($4.33 million)
9. 300: Rise of an Empire ($4.3 million)
10. Non-Stop ($4.1 million)