"Noah" leads with strong $43.7 million, "Sabotage" flops at weekend box office

With films like Divergent and Noah hitting theaters over the past few weeks, it's clear that summer is just around the corner. And so far, the grosses have been pretty solid. Despite weeks of controversy, Noah topped the box office this weekend with a strong haul of $43.7 million. That's a rather solid opening weekend for the film, which has garnered controversy for straying too far from the Bible. Obviously, some viewers weren't fans, as Noah received a "C" Cinemascore. However, as some have pointed out, The Wolf of Wall Street also received that dreaded rating and still went out to make a lot of money. Look for Noah to finish with around $130 million.

Summit's Divergent held pretty well in its second weekend with $25.6 million for a second place finish. That's only a 53% drop from its opening weekend, which indicates that word of mouth is strong. The film has now grossed $94.3 million and will probably finish with around $140 million. Muppets Most Wanted also had a great hold, finishing in third place with $11.2 million. That was enough to raise the film's total to $33.1 million. I still haven't seen the film, but I'm hoping to remedy that in the near future. Mr. Peabody and Sherman also had a great weekend, finishing in fourth place with $9 million. That's only a 23% drop from last weekend. Mr. Peabody and Sherman has now grossed $94.4 million.

Christian breakout hit God's Not Dead finished in fifth this weekend with $8.7 million, which is a slight disappointment considering that the film expanded into an additional 398 theaters. The film dropped only 4.5% this weekend and has now grossed $21.7 million. In sixth place was March's other breakout, The Grand Budapest Hotel. The film grossed $8.5 million in its widest release yet. It's an absolutely brilliant film and I hope everyone can check it out at some point. The Grand Budapest Hotel has now grossed $24.1 million.

The other wide release of the weekend was Open Road's Sabotage, which finished in seventh place with a lackluster $5.2 million. That's an awful opening for the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starred thriller, which was destroyed by critics for its awful script and disturbingly over-the-top violence. With a "B" Cinemascore, it's doubtful that Sabotage ends up finishing with more than $10 million.

Need for Speed finished in eighth place this weekend with $4.2 million. The car racing actioner has now grossed $37.6 million, but with strong grosses overseas, the possibility of a sequel is still there. 300: Rise of an Empire finished in ninth place this weekend with $4.2 million. The violent epic became the third 2014 film to gross $100 million this year. Rise of an Empire's total now stands at $101 million. And finally, Non-Stop rounded out the top ten with $4 million. The exceptional action film has now grossed $85 million and the possibility of hit the magic $100 million mark is still there.

Also, Cesar Chavez grossed $2.8 million in limited release this weekend. That's a solid start for the film which debuted in 664 theaters. The Raid 2 also debuted in limited release this weekend, grossing $165,292 in seven theaters. The Raid 2 expands nationwide on April 11.

Next weekend sees the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Here are my predictions:

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier- $97.6 million
2. Noah- $26.4 million
3. Divergent- $14.1 million
4. Muppets Most Wanted- $7.2 million
5. The Grand Budapest Hotel- $7 million
6. God's Not Dead- $6.7 million
7. Mr. Peabody and Sherman- $6.5 million
8. Need for Speed- $2.4 million
9. Non-Stop- $2.3 million
10. Sabotage- $2 million