《諾亞方舟 創世之旅》登頂北美票房榜

'Noah' easily rode a wave of pre-release buzz--and some controversy--to the top of the box office this weekend, grossing $44 million in the U.S. and Canada.

藉着上映前熱炒和影片引發爭議的東風，《諾亞方舟：創世之旅》('Noah')上週末輕鬆登頂票房排行榜，在美國和加拿大獲得4,400萬美元票房。

The results are a relief for Paramount Pictures, the Viacom Inc.-owned studio that has weathered significant criticism in recent weeks over director Darren Aronofsky's telling of the Genesis ark story. Most of the attention around the $125 million production--Hollywood's first biblical epic in decades--focused on the discomfort of religious leaders, many of whom declined to offer the full-throated endorsements that can drive churchgoers to the multiplex. Based on pre-release market research, the movie had been expected to make about $40 million this weekend.

這個票房成績令維亞康姆(Viacom Inc.)旗下派拉蒙電影公司(Paramount Pictures)鬆了口氣。最近幾周，戴倫・艾洛諾夫斯基(Darren Aronofsky)執導的這部關於《創世紀》中方舟故事的電影讓派拉蒙飽受批評。這部成本約1.25億美元的影片是好萊塢數十年來第一部 經題材的史詩巨片。外界對該片的關注大多集中在宗教領袖的不安上--很多宗教領袖拒絕大力推薦該片，而他們的推薦原本會促使虔誠的教徒去影院觀影。上映前的市場調查顯示，這部影片上映首週末票房原本預計約4,000萬美元。

Moviegoers' grades for the Russell Crowe release spoke to the polarizing nature of the film, which took significant liberties with the original text to adapt a spare biblical story into a Hollywood epic. According to the CinemaScore research firm, more than 60% of moviegoers gave the film an 'A' or 'B' grade, while 14% gave it a 'D' or 'F.' The movie's overall score was a 'C.'

觀衆給這部由羅素・克勞(Russell Crowe)主演影片的評價證明了該片兩極分化的特點。這部影片將一段簡單的 經故事改編成了好萊塢史詩片，自由發揮的程度很高。據市場研究公司CinemaScore的信息，60%以上的觀衆給該片的評分爲“A”或“B”，14%的觀衆評分爲“D”或“E”。該片的總體得分爲“C”。

Over the past couple of years, Paramount has reached out to faith leaders to try and get religious communities on board with the film. The studio said better-than-usual performances in markets like Oklahoma City, Houston and San Antonio indicated interest from the faithful.

過去幾年中，派拉蒙一直向宗教領袖示好，試圖吸引宗教羣體觀影。派拉蒙說，俄克拉荷馬城、休斯頓和 安東尼奧等市場的表現比通常更好，顯示出信教人士對該片有興趣。

'Noah' should perform better overseas than domestically, said Rob Moore, vice chairman at Paramount, since action-packed spectacles do particularly well in international territories and a biblical character like Noah has immediate name recognition. The movie has grossed $51.1 million internationally so far, in markets that include South Korea and Mexico. Its opening in Russia this weekend was an especially strong $17.2 million. The movie will next open in territories that include Brazil and Germany, but the studio has yet to hear whether the film will screen in the all-important Chinese market, where audiences flock to blockbusters but state censors may resist a biblically inspired film.

派拉蒙副董事長摩爾(Rob Moore)稱，《諾亞方舟：創世之旅》在海外市場的表現應該比美國本土更好，因爲令人興奮的特效在國際市場尤其受歡迎，而諾亞是人們耳熟能詳的 經人物。這部電影迄今爲止在包括韓國和墨西哥在內的國際市場票房爲5,110萬美元。該片上週末在俄羅斯上映的票房成績尤其強勁，達1,720萬美元。影片接下來將在巴西和德國等地上映，但派拉蒙尚未得知影片能否在重要的中國市場上映。中國觀衆會蜂擁前往影院觀看熱門大片，但政府審查機構可能會抵制 經題材的電影。

Domestically, Paramount says it expects 'Noah' to hold well at the box office and in the coming weeks attract older viewers, who tend to see movies later. The teen audience needed to keep 'Noah' and other films afloat will be harder to come by next week when 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' from Walt Disney Co.'s Marvel Studios is released and kicks off the summer blockbuster season. For its part, Paramount hopes that the debate generated by its film drives moviegoers who want see what the commotion is about.

派拉蒙稱，其預計《諾亞方舟：創世之旅》在美國本土的票房將保持良好勢頭，未來幾周將會吸引年紀大些的觀衆，這類觀衆往往會遲些去看電影。迪士尼公司(Walt Disney Co.)旗下Marvel Studios出品的《美國隊長2：冬日戰士》(Captain America: The Winter Soldier)將於下週上映，揭開夏季大片季的序幕。屆時《諾亞方舟：創世之旅》和其他影片吸引青少年觀衆的難度將會更大，青少年是支撐這些影片票房的主力羣體。派拉蒙希望《諾亞方舟：創世之旅》引發的爭議能促使那些希望瞭解爭議從何而來的觀衆走進影院。

'It seems like the conversation is just starting,' said Mr. Moore.

摩爾說，看起來對話纔剛剛開始。

In other box office news, 'Divergent' from Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. dropped to second place in its second week, collecting an estimated $26.5 million for a cumulative $95.3 million in the U.S. and Canada. Disney's 'Muppets Most Wanted' took third place with $11.4 million for a two-week total of $33.2 million.

至於其他電影票房方面的消息，獅門影業公司(Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.)出品的《分歧者》(Divergent)第二週票房跌至第二位，上週票房估計爲2,650萬美元，上映以來北美總票房爲9,530萬美元。迪士尼出品的《布偶大電影2》(Muppets Most Wanted)上週票房1,140萬美元，排在第三，上映兩週來的總票房爲3,320萬美元。

The week's other new release, 'Sabotage' starring action star and former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as a DEA agent, was busted on arrival. The Open Road Films movie grossed $5.3 million in seventh place.

上週另一部新上映的影片《破壞者》(Sabotage)開局不利。動作影星、前加州州長阿諾德・施瓦辛格(Arnold Schwarzenegger)在片中飾演一位美國緝毒局(DEA)特工。這部由開路影業(Open Road Films)出品的影片上週票房530萬美元，排在第七位。

In a sign of just how powerful Christian endorsements can be for a film. 'God's Not Dead,' a faith-based movie starring Kevin Sorbo as a college professor on a journey of faith, collected $9.1 million from nearly 1,200 theaters in its second weekend. The Pure Flix Entertainment movie added about 360 theaters this weekend and managed a second-weekend gross just 2% below its debut last week.

《上帝未死》(God's Not Dead)上映後的第二個週末在近1,200家影院獲得票房910萬美元，顯示出基督教題材電影的強大票房號召力。該片是一部以信仰爲題材的影片，凱文・索爾博 (Kevin Sorbo)在片中飾演一位進行一場信仰之旅的大學教授。這部由Pure Flix Entertainment出品的影片上週末上映影院新增約360家，第二個週末的票房僅比首週末票房低2%。