[Weekend Box Office] Captain America Saluted at the Box Office
In a surprise to nobody, Marvel's Captain America: The Winter Soldier topped domestic box offices this weekend with a resounding $96.2m opening, making the film's release the largest April release in history. What's more interesting is the film's international gross, surpassing the $207m mark this weekend. For a film so deeply rooted in American patriotism, it's surprising to see Captain America perform so well overseas.
Ever since Marvel Studios officially began producing their own films with 2008's Iron Man, the studio has been on a box office tear, with each subsequent film generating millions, if not billions, in returns. Analysts have noted the The Avengers effect, which has shown to help every Marvel film released since 2012's The Avengers, and that effect has been as clear as day, with Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, and now Captain America: The Winter Soldier raking in the big bucks following the superhero team-up film. Of course, the real test for Marvel, as I've been saying for over the past year, is whether or not Guardians of the Galaxy can make as much at the box office as the aforementioned films have.
In other box office news, Noah dropped to the second spot with a $17m weekend, which was a dramatic downturn from last weekend's $44m showing. Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel climbed a spot to 5th with $6.3m, while 300: Rise of an Empire completely fell out of the Top 10. This weekend's openings include the family-friendly Rio 2, the NFL-related Draft Day, and the horror film Oculus. However, the biggest news is that The Raid 2: Berandal expands to more theaters this week; I implore every single one of you to catch The Raid 2 this weekend. Trust me, you won't regret it.
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier - $96,200,000
2. Noah - $17,000,000
3. Divergent - $13,000,000
4. God's Not Dead - $7,726,000
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel - $6,300,000
6. Muppets Most Wanted - $6,285,000
7. Mr. Peabody and Sherman - $5,300,000
8. Sabotage - $1,908,000
9. Need for Speed - $1,836,000
10. Non-Stop - $1,827,000
[via Collider]
[Weekend Box Office] Noah Sails to Top Spot
After a minor break in the action, Weekend Box Office is back, and what a week to return to. Darren Aronofsky's Biblical epic, Noah, debuted in the top spot despite Paramount Pictures' worries about the film's reception from religious groups. Perhaps the supposed "controversy" surrounding the film's artistic reimagining of the Biblical Flood, buoyed by positive critical reviews, is what helped the Russell Crowe-led film to a resounding $44m. This weekend's other big release, the David Ayer-directed (End of Watch), Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring Sabotage opened to a dismal $5.3m, landing in 7th place.
The weekend's two other limited release films, Diego Luna's Cesar Chavez and Gareth Evans' The Raid 2: Berandal, didn't place in the Top 10. The Michael Pena-starring Cesar Chavez did end up in 12th place with $3m while opening in 664 theaters, however. The Raid 2: Berandal, meanwhile, was only released in a handful of theaters, but will be getting a rollout release over the next few weeks and should track well amongst the 18-34 male audience.
You can check out the rest of this weekend's box office numbers below!
1. Noah - $44,000,000
2. Divergent - $26,500,000
3. Muppets Most Wanted - $11,373,000
4. Mr. Peabody and Sherman - $9,500,000
5. God's Not Dead - $9,075,421
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel - $8,825,000
7. Sabotage - $5,330,000
8. Need For Speed - $4,335,000
9. 300: Rise of an Empire - $4,300,000
10. Non-Stop - $4,086,975
[via Rentrak]
Darren Aronofsky's cut of Noah will be released
Darren Aronofsky's films have all been met with critical acclaim, leaving audiences in awe with his compelling storytelling and focus on delivering character-led films that pull at audience's every emotion. His last film, 2010's Black Swan, was met with great reviews and a plethora of award nominations that reflected his talent. After a few missteps involving his attachment to, then eventual stepping back from The Wolverine, Aronofsky announced his next film would be the Biblical epic, Noah.
Aronofsky's telling of the story of Noah is taking many (many) artistic licenses, building it up as more of a science-fiction, superhero-esque film rather than the straight and narrow Western story of The Flood and The Ark. When you think about it, you wouldn't want anything less from the director, would you? Last week, it was announced the film's release in other markets would be given the 3D treatment, which isn't really necessary, but can be somewhat expected. What wasn't set in stone, however, was which cut of the film audiences would see.
There were many rumors about Paramount hiring various writers to edit the film's story to appease more religious audiences, to Aronofsky's dislike. However, after the various cuts were tested, Paramount decided to, in fact, go with Aronofsky's cut of the film. This is great news for film audiences, as we'll get to see the director's true vision of the film. It's also a great show of faith Paramount is showing Aronofsky, in spite of their attempts to undercut his work. Aronofsky had the following to say about his cut:
My guys and I were pretty sure that because of the nature of the film and how we work, there wasn’t another version. That’s what I told them … the scenes were so interconnected — if you started unwinding scenes, I just knew there would be holes. I showed it to filmmaker friends, and they said the DNA was set in this film.
Noah will be in theaters on March 28th.
[via /Film]
New images from Darren Aronofsky's Biblical epic, Noah
Following Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky's next film was going to be his big-budget Hollywood debut with The Wolverine. However, with disputes over shooting and production between the director and the film's studio, Aronofsky bowed out, choosing to focus on developing a passion project of his based off of the Biblical figure, Noah. With Aronofsky's distinct artistic touch, Noah will analyze the character's psyche as he builds the Ark meant to ensure humanity survives a large flood... or so the story goes. Aronofsky and co-writer John Logan attempted to stay as true to the story as possible, but took some liberties, including rumored six-armed angels.
The first promotional images of the film were recently released that feature Russell Crowe (Gladiator) as the titular Noah, Jennifer Connelly (Requiem for a Dream) as his wife, Naameh, Anthony Hopkins (Beowulf) as Noah's grandfather, Methuselah, Emma Watson (Harry Potter) as Noah's adopted daughter, Ila, Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) as Ham, Noah's son, and Ray Winstone (The Departed) as Tubal-cain, Noah's rival.
I'm actually looking really forward to Noah. As a huge fan of Aronofsky (even The Fountain), I can't wait to see his spin on Noah's story. The film won't be released until March 2014 at the earliest, so it'll be awhile before any footage arises. In Aronofsky We Trust.
[via Collider]
