BOX OFFICE: ‘Noah’ Rises Up, ‘God’s Not Dead’ Alive And Well As Schwarzenegger Falls In Faith-Based Weekend; ‘Budapest Hotel’ Checks In Again With Strong Per Screen; ’300′ Could Pass $100M

OPENING: Noah (PAR) $45M for weekend’s No. 1; Sabotage (OPRD) tanks in No. 7 with maybe $5M; Cesar Chavez (LGF) in limited release. NOTEWORTHY: The Grand Budapest Hotel (FSL) expands for $8.2M and another strong per screen; Bad Words (FOC) expands to weak result.
Noah has been gaining steam all day and it looks poised to bring in about $45M over the 3-day weekend for Paramount Pictures in a gross that is head and shoulders above the rest of the pack as it’s gotta be getting some of the faith-based crowd. It’s on track to take in $14.7M to $16M on Friday alone. Also, God’s Not Dead is holding incredibly strong in its second weekend having added 362 screens to keep its per screen average at around $6,700; the film may take in around $8M, which would be only a 12% to 15% drop. Interestingly, we have also been keeping tabs on the social engagement on Noah across the big three — Facebook, Twitter and YouTube — and Noah is the top film across the entire Social Media Universe. According to RelishMix, two big things happening: “Emma Watson is at the helm driving fans to opening weekend, while YouTube fan generated posts are sailing past official Paramount video trailers which is a good sign for the film,” according to the company. The critics were rough ... Read More »

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