'Noah's Arc' soars at box office

Logo announced on Monday that its new romantic comedy Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom, "soared" to the top of U.S. theatrical independent film box office with an estimated opening weekend gross of $161,302, or approximately $32,261 per screen.

Described as a "sassy, funny and fierce look at the lives of a close-knit quartet of African-American gay men," Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom picks up where the Logo TV series left off. The four principal characters go on a weekend wedding retreat to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts where intimate secrets are revealed, relationships are betrayed, and a same-sex marriage is planned. Massachusetts is one of only two states that allows same-sex marriages; the other is California.

The film follows Noah (Darryl Stephens), a young screenwriter from Los Angeles, his partner Wade (Jensen Atwood), and three of Noah's closest friends: Alex (Rodney Chester), Ricky (Christian Vincent) and Chance (Doug Spearman). Other stars include Gregory Kieth, Jonathan Julian, Jason Steed, Gary LeRoi Gray and Tonya Pinkins, and the film includes a special appearance by singer Phoebe Snow, who also appears in the soundtrack.

Washington Post reviewer Michael O'Sullivan describes the film as "a young, gay, African American male version of 'The Golden Girls.'" While Village Voice reviewer Ernest Hardy says the film "centers on the bumpy road to marriage--an especially timely subject to which the film brings heavy-handed polemics, teary bust-ups and reconciliations, and lots of slapstick comedy, but no real insight or depth."

That didn't stop audiences from packing the theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta and Washington, DC. Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom grossed approximately $54,093 on Friday, increased slightly to approximately $55,209 on Saturday, and was expected to gross an estimated additional $52,000 on Sunday, the network announced.

The per screen average was among the best of the year and makes it the highest grossing narrative gay film overall, according to IndieWire. 

The audience response to the film's opening weekend has prompted the company to add screens for the film's second weekend. "The stellar box office for Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom says as much about the intense loyalty of Noah's avid fan base as it does about ticket sales," said Lisa Sherman, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Logo.  

The movie marks the theatrical film debut of Logo Features and was produced in association with Tall Skinny Black Boy Productions. The film is directed by Patrik-Ian Polk (Punks) from a script he co-wrote with John R. Gordon and was produced by Lael McCall ("Whistler"), Carol Ann Shine (The Human Contract) and Polk.

Ticket information and video previews are available at www.NoahsArcMovie.com and the motion picture soundtrack is now available in stores nationwide from Tommy Boy's Silver Label. Logo is a division of Viacom.

The film is rated R by the MPAA for sexual content and language.