'Noah' Defeats Competition While 'Gods Not Dead' and 'The Grand Budapest Hotel' Become Indie Hits; 'Sabotage' Bombs

"Noah" won the No. 1 spot at the box office over the weekend defeating "Sabotage" and the new franchise "Divergent."

Starring Russell Crow, Jennifer Connelly, Emma Watson, and Anthony Hopkins, the the Bible epic spurred controversy and had a lot of detractors, but took in an estimated $44 million, with the majority of the audience above the age of 25. The film obtained a C on Cinemascore which compiles ratings from movie goers. The movie has tough competition on its way with "Captain America," but the controversy could easily continue to stir up interest in the film and it could become Darren Aronofsy's highest-grossing film. 

"Divergent" had a 52 percent drop and made an estimated $26 million. The film brought its total to $95 million. The movie, starring Shailene Woodley, Miles Tellers and Kate Winslet, is now on track to surpass the $150 million mark, but could suffer with next week's "Captain America" release.

"The Muppets: Most Wanted" held on better than expected. The film made an estimated $11.3 million and only fell 31 percent, which is better than the 2011 film. The movie has brought in a total of $33 million but it continues to hold solidly; Disney can expect a total of $60 million by the end of its run.

In fourth place "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" continued to perform well only dropping 19 percent. The film made $9.5 million and is now at $94 million. The $145 million budgeted film may not make back its budget but it will definitely surpass the $100 million mark by the end of the week.

Freestyle Releasing expanded the Christian film "God's Not Dead" to 1,178 theaters and made an estimated $9 million. The movie has already surprised many pundits by making $22 million and only dropping 1.5 percent from last weekend. Expect its final box office total closer to $50 million if it continues on the same pace.

In sixth place "The Grand Budapest Hotel" successfully opened in wide release. The film made an estimated $8.8 million and has already made $24 million. Fox Searchlight will continue to expand the picture next weekend to more locations.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest film "Sabotage" had a weak opening with $5.3 million. The film's opening was worse than the actor's last action film "The Last Stand" and it has become the worst opening for the actor since "Red Sonja," which was released in 1985.     

"Need for Speed" also continued to flop with an estimated $4.3 million, bringing its total to $37 million. Meanwhile, "300: Rise of An Empire" reached $101 million. The film has continued to lag behind the 2006 film. Expect the film to end its run within the $115 to $120 million range.

Also opening in wide release was "Cesar Chavez." The film, which opened in 664 theaters, only generated a disappointing $3 million. Jason Bateman's directorial debut "Bad Words" also expanded to wide release but failed to generate solid numbers. The movie only made an estimated $2.6 million. The film, which has been playing for two weeks, has only made $3 million and is unlikely to make $10 million by the end of its run.

Sony Pictures Classics had a solid opening with "The Raid 2" as the film made $177,000 in 7 theaters. The total equaled an outstanding $25,286 per theater average.