OT: Jesus Christ Works Miracles at Box Office
Boaz
Boaz
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Jesus Christ Works Miracles at Box Office
Updated 4:34 PM ET February 29, 2004
By Dean Goodman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mel Gibson turned water into wine at the North
American box office as the faithful flocked to watch the
writer/director's controversial labor of love, "The Passion of the
Christ," over the weekend.
The gritty movie, which revolves around the last 12 hours of Christ's
life, sold an estimated $76.2 million worth of tickets for the three
days beginning Feb. 27, officials for the film said on Sunday -- the
seventh-best three-day opener of all time, and the best for a new
release in February.
Since opening on Wednesday, "Passion" has grossed $117.5 million,
which included about $3 million worth of group sales for preview
screenings the prior two days. The tally represented the second-best
for a Wednesday release, behind only 2003's "The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King" with $124.1 million in its first five days.
However, the Friday-to-Sunday sum for "Passion" beat the equivalent
three-day haul for "The Return of the King" of $72.7 million. The
three-day record of $115 million is held by the 2002 hit "Spider-Man."
"Passion" also ranks as the second-best R-rated opener, behind last
year's "The Matrix Reloaded" with a three-day sum of $92 million.
The film, starring James Caviezel as Jesus and Monica Bellucci as Mary
Magdalene, has outraged some Jewish groups, who say it pins the blame
for Jesus' demise on them. It drew sharply divergent reviews from
critics, and benefited from keen grass-roots enthusiasm among
Christians, thousands of whom have seen the movie in focus groups over
the last few months.
MULTIPLE VISIONS
"The grass-roots and the controversy obviously helped, but when you
get this big a number, it's a mainstream 'wanna-see,' and
word-of-mouth is now in effect," said Bob Berney, president of the
film's North American distributor, Newmarket Films.
Many people have accessed the film's Web site to write that they have
already seen the film multiple times, according to producer Bruce
Davey, who runs Gibson's Icon Prods. film banner. The site received
54.1 million visits on Thursday.
Gibson, a traditionalist Catholic, reportedly financed the film out of
his own pocket for about $30 million, although Davey said he had "no
idea" about that. He declined to reveal the break-even point.
"Passion" played on about 4,700 screens in 3,043 theaters across the
United States and Canada. Davey said the movie is playing equally
strongly in Australia, where Gibson was raised.
Newmarket Films, a unit of closely held Newmarket Capital Group, is
best known for such art house hits as "Monster" and "Whale Rider."
Elsewhere at the box office, "50 First Dates" slipped to No. 2 with
$12.6 million in its third weekend. The total for the romantic comedy,
which stars Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, rose to $88.7 million.
The film was released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp .
Three other films debuted in the top 10, none of them with much gusto.
Leading the pack was "Twisted," a cop thriller starring Ashley Judd
and Samuel L. Jackson. It opened at No. 3 with $9.1 million, a figure
that pleased executives at its distributor, Paramount Pictures, a unit
of Viacom Inc . The film played mostly to older women, a spokeswoman
said.
"Havana Nights: Dirty Dancing," a sequel of sorts to the 1987 hit
"Dirty Dancing," opened at No. 5 with $5.9 million. The figure was on
target, said a spokeswoman for its North American distributor, Lions
Gate Entertainment Corp . British newcomer Romola Garai and Mexican
actor Diego Luna star as mismatched lovers and dance partners in the
last days of pre-Castro Cuba. It played primarily to young girls, the
spokeswoman said.
The low-budget comedy "Club Dread," from the five-man troupe behind
sleeper hit "Super Troopers," opened at No. 10 with $3.0 million,
doing well with the college crowd, said a spokesman for its
distributor, Fox Searchlight Pictures. The studio is a unit of News
Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc .
After 10 weeks in the top 10, leading Oscar contender "The Lord of the
Rings: The Return of the King" slipped one place to No. 11 with $2.2
million.