Darren Aronofsky's Biblical Epic “Noah” Projected to Huge Gross Revenue Amid Religious Outburst

One of the first of biblical films to turn out in droves at the box office in 2014, Russell Crowe’s “Noah” is on track for a more than $35 million national release on March 28. According to various news reports, the biblical drama might get more than $40 million, despite the fact that Paramount has reportedly projected a gross less than $27 million to downplay anticipations for the mega-budget of $130 million production.

The Biblical epic has turned out to be particularly tough to measure provided the outburst of contention it’s brought up not only among Christian communities but also among Muslim societies since the release of its official trailer months.

One of the most expensive films, co-starring Jennifer Connelly, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Watson, strays from the biblical tale of Noah’s Ark, compelling Paramount to come up with a current disclaimer that this motion picture doesn’t straightforwardly reflect the Biblical events.

“The film was made for believers and non-believers,” Director Darren Aronofsky told media a few days back during film promotion. “I’m more concerned about getting non-believers into the theater or people who are less religious. A lot of people are thinking, ‘Oh. I don’t want to go see a Bible movie,’ but we completely shook up all expectations and people will see that as soon as they sit down and watch the movie.”

While few days have left in release of the film, it has already been censored in Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, and a number of other Middle Eastern countries, due to religious reasons. Up to now, “Noah” is still having a great year at the box office, particularly if we judge by the opening weeks of another biblical film “Son of God” that kicked off with a strong $26 million and undoubtedly pulled a large number of under-served faith-based viewers.

With the director of blockbuster hits and Oscar nominated films “The Black Swan” and “Requiem for a Dream” helming the project and a powerful star cast, “Noah” could definitely grab a wide range of different viewers than only faith-targeted movies.

According to a current survey conducted by Fandango, 76% viewers who purchased advanced tickets to “Son of God” are also ready to watch “Noah”. A surprising 94% also said that they would like to watch more Biblical films in future.

Darren told that it was a boat, not its biblical ancestors, which encouraged Paramount to invest in this project.

“I said, it’s at least the second most famous boat if not the most famous boat after the Titanic,” the director laughed. “That was my pitch.”