Noah
Paramount Pictures’ epic film, “Noah” earned 44 million dollars in the box office in its debut, already exceeding Hollywood’s estimate by 3 million dollars. The film was released in over 3,000 theaters across the United States and Canada, outselling “Divergent” and Arnold Schwarzneggar’s “Sabotage”.
Besides, becoming one of the highest earning motion pictures of the season, “Noah” is also a great critical success despite heavy criticism from Christians and leaders that it goes against the intended teachings and message of the original account from the book of Genesis. Many experts and analysts expressed that the touches and creative license taken by the filmmakers and the director Darren Aronofsky played a crucial role in reaching a wider audience.
Box Office Mojo explained that the audience was split fairly evenly between males and females. In addition, 74 percent of all viewers were above 25 years of age.
Before the motion picture’s debut, Paramount Pictures and the National Religious Broadcasters announced together, "The film is inspired by the story of Noah. While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values, and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide. The biblical story of Noah can be found in the book of Genesis."
However, there were people who stated very clear reasons why “Noah” goes against the core message of the Noah’s Ark story: sin, judgment, and salvation. Ken Ham, the CEO of “Answers in Genesis” was one of them.
Ken Ham wrote in a blog post that the movie is inaccurate because people that seem like fallen angels help build the ark. Also, Tubal-Cain, one of the antagonists infiltrates into the ark and manages to convince one of Noah’s sons to lure him to the lower level to murder him. In addition, there is a great emphasis on environmentalism, creating a notion that animals were more important than people. Also, Noah expresses in the movie that he intended to kill his own grandson, emphasizing that his family should be the last generation.
“Son of God” a faith driven movie was also a financial success, earning 25.6 million dollars in its debut on February. However, the picture has received a great deal of criticism from film critics, despite heavy support from Christians and churches.
