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Brett Ballard-Beach: I would have been (very pleasantly) surprised if this had gone much higher. Historical action epics are about the only genre that Crowe opens any more (even if it wouldn't quite be fair to give him the lion's share of credit for this) and although it is often said that no controversy is bad controversy, it was hard to gauge in advance if the devoutly inclined would be kept away or would choose to show up, and/or in what numbers other quadrants might attend to make up for any loss. I am inclined to think that legs will not be great for this. It does, however, give me pleasure to note that the top five (well, six) this week contains films of personal idiosyncratic vision by both Aranofsky and Wes Anderson that in their own ways are connecting on a mass level.

Kim Hollis: This weekend's total was almost exactly what I expected for Noah. Crowe isn't really any special kind of draw on his own (if you look at his recent track record, he hasn't been in any way consistent), and this particular Noah didn't appeal as much to faith-based viewers as many of them might hope. Non-religious film fans would be wary of a biblical epic as well. It's not like Darren Aronofsky is know for any mainstream creations, either.

Bruce Hall: I want to say I was expecting more than this, but when I think about the level to which they improvised with this well known story, I can see $43 million. This would constitute a solid start for any movie that did not cost its stakeholders anywhere between $125 and $200 million to bring to fruition and was NOT based on a Biblical epic. But with what is obviously meant to be a marquee title, I could call it a mild letdown.

Still, Noah is doing solid international business and is poised to break even, if not necessarily make a significant profit. Considering the attempt by some quarters to manufacture controversy, I'd say that Noah is performing like the lukewarm action adventure it really is.

David Mumpower: We as box office analysts hungrily want films to earn more. Sometimes, a relatively solid number is genuinely good rather than "just" good enough. I believe that this is such an example.

The Noah conversation is a strange one for me in that I have literally been awaiting this production for a decade now. If you google my name, CNN and The Passion of the Christ, you will find an interview from February of 2004 (!) wherein I stated an expectation for a Noah's Ark production in the wake of Mel Gibson's success. This causes me to think of two things. 1) I've been doing this job for waaaaay too long. 2) Mel Gibson used to be successful and popular. My, how times have changed.

Over the past decade, I obviously have put a great deal of thought into my expectations for Noah. Since I reside in the Bible Belt, I have borne witness to the backlash against the project from the ultra-religious consumers currently supporting God's Not Dead so ardently. In short, my thought process has been that Hollywood waited a decade to create a movie that should have been greenlit in 2004. In the process, a schism has occurred in America that turns any religious subject matter into a polarized political debate. Noah did not receive the sort of controversy that would aid it in attaining more box office the way that The Passion of the Christ did. All it did was ward off potential customers who are skeptical of any religious enterprise crafted by the cynical Hollywood elite.

Given the above, I say with complete sincerity that I consider Noah's opening weekend as a best case scenario result. It has pretty lousy trailers, divisive subject matter and a mistrustful target audience. The largest potential here was for Noah to bomb. Not only did it evade that fate but it also managed an opening weekend that is spectacular for any new property. Yes, I recognize that there is a built-in awareness for such a popular Biblical story yet that hasn't translated to box office for either of the major Nativity stories released in December over the past few years. Noah was getting hit from both sides as non-believers had cause to fear proselytizing while the faithful were dubious about the intentions of the filmmakers. For Noah to open this well is a pleasant surprise in my estimation.

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