Well, something of a minor calamity has befallen yet another recent adaptation of an Old Testament Bible story.
Earlier this year, Noah with all of it’s Lord of the Rings-esque trailer glamour, failed to impress critics and audience-goers alike, which made for a poor showing at the box office. But this weekend saw the release of fan and critic favourite director, Ridley Scott’s latest, Exodus: Gods and Kings. The film is the distinctly Hollywood-ized story of Moses and the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt. So, how would it fare, especially against our predictions?
Follow me after the jump and we’ll take a look at what films rejoiced – and what films caught plague at the box office this weekend!
Look, if you’re going to make a film about Moses, you can’t help but expect comparisons to Cecil B. Demille’s classic The Ten Commandments.
Really, is there any need to ensure a “dark” and “gritty” film when your source material is the Old Testament? Overarching themes like “an eye for an eye” is already inherent, isn’t it? No need to get darker than that. But that’s what Exodus: Gods and Kings did. And, with box office revenue of a paltry $24.5 million, it turns out theatergoers just weren’t into it – or they were just into the Demille version of The Ten Commandments – whose special effects still look great today!
It’s got to be a big disappointment for a Ridley Scott film movie that has Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, Aaron Pall, Sigourney Weaver and Ben Kingsley attached. Still, it finished in first place this weekend.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 held an impressive second spot with $13.2 million, and Penguins of Madagascar held a still strong but obviously weakening third with $7.3 million.
Here were the predictions:
1) Exodus: Gods and Kings – $35 million
2) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 – $19 million
3) Penguins of Madagascar – $8 million
4) Top Five – $6 million
5) Big Hero 6 – $5 million
And here’s how everything turned out:
1) Exodus: Gods and Kings – $24.5 million
2) The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 – $13.2 million
3) Penguins of Madagascar – $7.3 million
4) Top Five – $7.2 million
5) Big Hero 6 – $6.2 million
It’s safe to say that The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will dominate next weekend. No other film of note dares release on the same week as Peter Jackson’s closing chapter of the J.R.R. Tolkien series of stories. Come back next Friday when we partake of Halfling leaf and try to comprehend its box office pull.
Until then, check out the extended featurette, seen below, of the amazing 17-year journey of bringing Tolkien to cinematic life!
