The Passion of the Christ a huge hit so far

[Cheesebeef]

my good lord (no pun intended) - talk about your culutral phenomena - going to see it tonight to gauge all the hype and hysteria for myself - very curious to see this movie after all the crap - negative, positive, middle of the road, controversy nonsense that's surrounded it for the last six months.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

The Passion Climbs to $264 Million in 3 Weeks
Source: Coming Soon!
Sunday, March 14, 2004

The Coming Soon! Box Office Report has been updated with the studio estimates for this weekend. Be sure to stay tuned there for the final figures on Monday afternoon.

Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ added yet another big $31.7 million in its third weekend in theaters to boost its total to a massive $264 million. The $30-million budgeted film, distributed by Newmarket Films, has moved up to the #23 spot on the all-time domestic blockbuster list, only three million behind Shrek ($267.7), and is now the second-biggest R-rated movie all-time, with only about $17 million to go to pass up The Matrix Reloaded for the top spot.

 

[American Caesar]

I don't buy the "not having any competition" excuse leading to the success of the movie. What that really says is that people would spend money on movies regardless what is out there and The Passion was the best to choose. Frankly, because of it's subtitles it makes it less likely that people who would spend money on any movie just because it is the weekend would most likely shy away from somthing they would have to use their brains to follow.

I think people really want to understand why Christ went through those horrible beatings.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Originally posted by American Caesar

I think people really want to understand why Christ went through those horrible beatings.

Wow - than imagine how much the movie would be making if Mel Gibson actually provided that story!

Hype and religious zeal are the two main forces driving the boxofficem receipts for this movie - to believe anything else IMO means you're fooling yourself.

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Originally posted by cheesebeef
Wow - than imagine how much the movie would be making if Mel Gibson actually provided that story!

Hype and religious zeal are the two main forces driving the boxofficem receipts for this movie - to believe anything else IMO means you're fooling yourself.

Hype maybe for the opening weekend, but the movie has legs and is still going strong...

Mike

 

[American Caesar]

Originally posted by Chandler Mike
Hype maybe for the opening weekend, but the movie has legs and is still going strong...

Mike

Well said. Regarding movies, hype lasts through the first weekend, afterwards it is about the content of the movie.

 

[Renz]

'Passion' Earns More Than $250 Million
Mar 14, 11:06 PM EST

LOS ANGELES - "The Passion of the Christ" was the top film for a third straight weekend, taking in $31.7 million and pushing its total beyond a quarter of a billion dollars.

Mel Gibson's dramatization of Christ's final hours climbed to $264 million in the United States and Canada after 19 days in theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.

With solid receipts expected through Easter on April 11, "The Passion" is on track to gross between $350 million and $400 million, said Rob Schwartz, head of distribution for Newmarket Films, which handled the release.

That would put it on par with "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," which took in another $2.05 million over the weekend to push its total to $371.2 million.

Johnny Depp's psychological horror tale "Secret Window," based on a Stephen King story about an author accused of plagiarism by a stalker, debuted in second place with $19 million.

The weekend's other two big releases had so-so openings. Frankie Muniz's spy caper "Agent Cody Banks: Destination London" was No. 5 with $8 million, barely half the $14.1 million opening weekend of "Agent Cody Banks" last year.

Premiering in narrower release, David Mamet's military thriller "Spartan," starring Val Kilmer, finished in 10th place with $2 million.

"The Passion" lifted Hollywood to its third-straight uptick in revenues after a long slump in January and February. The top 12 movies grossed $104.1 million, up 15 percent from the same weekend last year.

Before "The Passion" opened, Hollywood revenue was running 7 percent behind last year's. Revenues now are 3 to 4 percent ahead of 2003's, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.

"'The Passion' has single-handedly made what was turning out to be a pretty lousy year into a really good year so far," Dergarabedian said.

Playing in 3,221 theaters, "The Passion" averaged $9,830 a cinema, a huge number for a movie in its third weekend. "Secret Window" averaged $6,296 in 3,018 theaters, "Agent Cody Banks" did $2,691 in 2,973 cinemas and "Spartan" averaged $2,440 in 832 locations.

Starring Jim Caviezel as Christ, "The Passion" continues to draw well among church groups that helped make it a religious blockbuster, but the film is packing in much broader audiences, said Newmarket's Schwartz.

"It's a large cross-section of America," Schwartz said. "It's not just church groups going at this point. It's way beyond that."

Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore's romantic comedy "50 First Dates" had a $5.3 million weekend and pushed its total to $106.6 million, following "The Passion" as the second movie released in 2004 to cross the $100 million mark.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Passion of the Christ," $31.7 million.

2. "Secret Window," $19 million.

3. "Starsky & Hutch," $16 million.

4. "Hidalgo," $11.7 million.

5. "Agent Cody Banks: Destination London," $8 million.

6. "50 First Dates," $5.3 million.

7. "Twisted," $3.1 million.

8. "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen," $2.4 million.

9. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," $2.05 million.

10. "Spartan," $2 million.

Copyright 2002 Associated Press.

This film is much more than "hype".

 

[Mike Olbinski]

Originally posted by American Caesar
Well said. Regarding movies, hype lasts through the first weekend, afterwards it is about the content of the movie.

Exactly.

Mike

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

Originally posted by cheesebeef
Wow - than imagine how much the movie would be making if Mel Gibson actually provided that story!

Hype and religious zeal are the two main forces driving the boxofficem receipts for this movie - to believe anything else IMO means you're fooling yourself.

Did you see it? What did you think?

 

[Cheesebeef]

Originally posted by American Caesar
Well said. Regarding movies, hype lasts through the first weekend, afterwards it is about the content of the movie.

right - so I guess the same thing can be said about Titanic right because that story was SOOOO Amazing - or that Michael Bay classic Armageddon! Besides - we're not talking normal hype here for this movie - we are talking TITANIC type hype - how long has this movie been discussed and batied about in the press --either in Calendar Sections, Opinion sections or hell even Front page Sections of every newspaper in America - the hype machine for this movie - combined with Gibson's multiple early screenings to multiple Church groups - is something that hasn't been seen for along time and it's something that continues to effect ticket sales for a long time. I mean you guys have to admit that we are not talking about normal hype for a movie here - correct?

I also believe that we are living in somewhat Biblical times - In the modern era, the world we live has never seen more uprisings of people, demonstrations, war and people need to turn to faith to restore their belief in humanity and Gibson just nailed the perfect time to release this sucker.

The Passion is a culutral phenomena - no doubt about it - but to think the hype of it hasn't worn off is foolish IMO - and if you think repeat ticket sales have nothing to do with it in addition to people who couldn't get to see it those first two weekends - because the shows were sold out or didn't want to brave the crowds - doesn't have anything to do with it either - well than you're just not looking at all the facts of what drives Big-Time blockbusters.

And as far as the Quote by NEWMARKET'S Schwartz - what do you expect him to do? Fan the fires of religious controversy and say something that will keep a broader group of America away from the movie or will he say something that implies everyone 's going to see it - so bascially if you aren't you're missing out on something - basically using the media - to get even more people to see it to make money for his company?

As for Ken's question - I posted my review on another thread - basically I thought it was average - the flashbacks seemed to throw the pacing off the film and weren't very involving - and basically for someone who doesn't know the story of Christ - it all boiled down to, in the braodest terms possible -somebody strangling puppies for two hours - but I can see why people who know the full story would be torn apart by it - but for non-Christians - there was just to much left to be presumed as to what was happening or why it was happening.

 

[Renz]

The Passion of the Christ now the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time.

Rank OR# Title Studio Lifetime Gross^ Year*
1 18 The Passion of the Christ NM $295,507,244 2004
2 22 The Matrix Reloaded WB $281,576,461 2003
3 36 Beverly Hills Cop Par. $234,760,478 1984
4 38 The Exorcist WB $232,671,011 1973
5 45 Saving Private Ryan DW $216,540,909 1998
6 51 Terminator 2: Judgment Day TriS $204,843,345 1991
7 60 Gladiator DW $187,683,805 2000
8 73 Pretty Woman BV $178,406,268 1990
9 76 There's Something About Mary Fox $176,484,651 1998
10 82 Air Force One Sony $172,956,409 1997
11 83 Rain Man MGM $172,825,435 1988
12 84 The Matrix WB $171,479,930 1999
13 92 Hannibal MGM $165,092,268 2001
14 100 The Firm Par. $158,348,367 1993
15 102 Scary Movie Mira. $157,019,771 2000
16 103 Fatal Attraction Par. $156,645,693 1987
17 108 Jerry Maguire Sony $153,952,592 1996
18 109 Beverly Hills Cop II Par. $153,665,036 1987
19 113 Rambo: First Blood Part II TriS $150,415,432 1985
20 114 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines WB $150,371,112 2003

% Overall all time rank (includes multiple releases)
^ Lifetime Gross includes multiple releases, if any.
* Year is first year of release.

 

[CaptTurbo]

The catholic church is gonna be mad as hell that someone is cashing in on christ and they arent getting a kick back on it.

 

[Renz]

"The Passion" passes "Two Towers" and "Nemo" into #8 all-time

ALL TIME BOX OFFICE

DOMESTIC GROSSES

Rank Title Studio Lifetime Gross Year

1 Titanic Par. $600,788,188 1997
2 Star Wars Fox $460,998,007 1977
3 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Uni. $435,110,554 1982
4 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Fox $431,088,301 1999
5 Spider-Man Sony $403,706,375 2002
6 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $375,667,233 2003
7 Jurassic Park Uni. $357,067,947 1993
8 The Passion of the Christ NM $354,304,281 2004
9 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers NL $341,786,758 2002
10 Finding Nemo BV $339,714,978 2003
11 Forrest Gump Par. $329,694,499 1994
12 The Lion King BV $328,541,776 1994
13 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone WB $317,575,550 2001
14 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring NL $314,776,170 2001
15 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones Fox $310,676,740 2002
16 Return of the Jedi Fox $309,306,177 1983
17 Independence Day Fox $306,169,268 1996
18 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl BV $305,413,918 2003
19 The Sixth Sense BV $293,506,292 1999
20 The Empire Strikes Back Fox $290,475,067 1980
21 Home Alone Fox $285,761,243 1990
22 The Matrix Reloaded WB $281,576,461 2003
23 Shrek DW $267,665,011 2001
24 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets WB $261,988,482 2002
25 How the Grinch Stole Christmas Uni. $260,044,825 2000
26 Jaws Uni. $260,000,000 1975
27 Monsters, Inc. BV $255,873,250 2001
28 Batman WB $251,188,924 1989
29 Men in Black Sony $250,690,539 1997
30 Toy Story 2 BV $245,852,179 1999
31 Bruce Almighty Uni. $242,829,261 2003
32 Raiders of the Lost Ark Par. $242,374,454 1981
33 Twister WB $241,721,524 1996
34 My Big Fat Greek Wedding IFC $241,438,208 2002
35 Ghostbusters Col. $238,632,124 1984
36 Beverly Hills Cop Par. $234,760,478 1984
37 Cast Away Fox $233,632,142 2000
38 The Exorcist WB $232,671,011 1973
39 The Lost World: Jurassic Park Uni. $229,086,679 1997
40 Signs BV $227,966,634 2002
41 Rush Hour 2 NL $226,164,286 2001
42 Mrs. Doubtfire Fox $219,195,243 1993
43 Ghost Par. $217,631,306 1990
44 Aladdin BV $217,350,219 1992
45 Saving Private Ryan DW $216,540,909 1998
46 Mission: Impossible 2 Par. $215,409,889 2000
47 X2: X-Men United Fox $214,949,694 2003
48 Austin Powers in Goldmember NL $213,307,889 2002
49 Back to the Future Uni. $210,609,762 1985
50 Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me NL $206,040,086 1999
51 Terminator 2: Judgment Day TriS $204,843,345 1991
52 The Mummy Returns Uni. $202,019,785 2001
53 Armageddon BV $201,578,182 1998
54 Gone With the Wind MGM $198,676,459 1939
55 Pearl Harbor BV $198,542,554 2001
56 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Par. $197,171,806 1989
57 Toy Story BV $191,796,233 1995
58 Men in Black II Sony $190,418,803 2002
59 Grease Par. $188,389,888 1978
60 Gladiator DW $187,683,805 2000
61 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Dis. $184,925,486 1937
62 Dances With Wolves Orion $184,208,848 1990
63 Batman Forever WB $184,031,112 1995
64 The Fugitive WB $183,875,760 1993
65 Ocean's Eleven WB $183,417,150 2001
66 What Women Want Par. $182,811,707 2000
67 The Perfect Storm WB $182,618,434 2000
68 Liar Liar Uni. $181,410,615 1997
69 Jurassic Park III Uni. $181,171,875 2001
70 Mission: Impossible Par. $180,981,886 1996
71 Planet of the Apes Fox $180,011,740 2001
72 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom Par. $179,870,271 1984
73 Pretty Woman BV $178,406,268 1990
74 Tootsie Col. $177,200,000 1982
75 Top Gun Par. $176,786,701 1986
76 There's Something About Mary Fox $176,484,651 1998
77 Ice Age Fox $176,387,405 2002
78 Crocodile Dundee Par. $174,803,506 1986
79 Apollo 13 Uni. $173,807,593 1995
80 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Fox $173,585,516 1992
81 Elf NL $173,398,518 2003
82 Air Force One Sony $172,956,409 1997
83 Rain Man MGM $172,825,435 1988
84 The Matrix WB $171,479,930 1999
85 Beauty and the Beast BV $171,350,553 1991
86 Tarzan BV $171,091,819 1999
87 A Beautiful Mind Uni. $170,742,341 2001
88 Chicago Mira. $170,687,518 2002
89 Three Men and a Baby BV $167,780,960 1987
90 Meet the Parents Uni. $166,244,045 2000
91 Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves WB $165,493,908 1991
92 Hannibal MGM $165,092,268 2001
93 Catch Me If You Can DW $164,615,351 2002
94 Big Daddy Sony $163,479,795 1999
95 Batman Returns WB $162,831,698 1992
96 A Bug's Life BV $162,798,565 1998
97 The Waterboy BV $161,491,646 1998
98 Die Another Day MGM $160,942,139 2002
99 The Sound of Music Fox $158,671,368 1965
100 The Firm Par. $158,348,367 1993

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

Are these dollar amounts adjusted to the same value of a dollar?

One thing I would be curious about though would be the rankings of films based upon tickets sold instead of total gross.

 

[Chaplin]

Are these dollar amounts adjusted to the same value of a dollar?

One thing I would be curious about though would be the rankings of films based upon tickets sold instead of total gross.

If all movies were measured by the same value of a dollar, Gone With the Wind would be the #1 movie of all time, FYI...

 

[Chaplin]

Are these dollar amounts adjusted to the same value of a dollar?

One thing I would be curious about though would be the rankings of films based upon tickets sold instead of total gross.

Oh, yeah, in case you care, you are totally missing your Movie-A-Day week!

 

[Jersey Girl]

Hey all.

Finally saw it on Good Friday. Ugh. Toughest thing I've ever had to watch.

Cheesebeef, I agree with some of your points but wonder how many people are actually return visitors. I, for one, will never watch it again.

 

[Shane]

I, for one, will never watch it again.

Good movie and am glad I saw it. But will definately not buy it or watch it again as well. Its not something I would wanna sit down and watch for fun on a Saturday night.

 

[Jersey Girl]

Good movie and am glad I saw it. But will definately not buy it or watch it again as well. Its not something I would wanna sit down and watch for fun on a Saturday night.

I agree. I am totally glad I saw it, even though I was hoping it would be sold out the whole time my sister and I were in line waiting to buy tickets. After the movie, everyone walked out in silence and it wasn't until we got to the car that I said to my sis, "Well, I don't think I'm gonna buy THAT one" and we both kinda giggled nervously for a second. Needed something to break that tension.

 

[Djaughe]

...After the movie, everyone walked out in silence and it wasn't until we got to the car that I said to my sis, "Well, I don't think I'm gonna buy THAT one" and we both kinda giggled nervously for a second. Needed something to break that tension.

I tried to make a stupid joke like "the ending was to predictable" or say something to lighten up the tension - but everyone wasn't in the mood......I shoulda gone with ryanwb!

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

Oh, yeah, in case you care, you are totally missing your Movie-A-Day week!

Has it rolled around already?

I didn't know.

 

[Renz]

The Passion now #7 all-time, passing Jurassic Park.

Rank Title Studio Lifetime Gross Year

1 Titanic Par. $600,788,188 1997
2 Star Wars Fox $460,998,007 1977
3 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Uni. $435,110,554 1982
4 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Fox $431,088,301 1999
5 Spider-Man Sony $403,706,375 2002
6 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $376,337,432 2003
7 The Passion of the Christ NM $365,075,712 2004
8 Jurassic Park Uni. $357,067,947 1993
9 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers NL $341,786,758 2002
10 Finding Nemo BV $339,714,978 2003

 

[Cheesebeef]

Well said. Regarding movies, hype lasts through the first weekend, afterwards it is about the content of the movie.

You don't really believe this do you? I mean was it the content of the movie that made The Passion spike over 300 percent over Easter weekend only to fall back out of the top ten again a week later?

Face it guys - this movie made buckets of cash for a couple reasons - The most hype I have ever seen for a movie of it's type - the backlash against it before people even saw it which I believe forced a lot of people out the theaters in almost religious protest - and then numero uno - number 1 reason - Religion and a built in audience are the two biggest factors as far as what drove this film box-officewise. Have you guys ever heard of entire theaters rented out by Churches for a week - this is what was happening - do you know how many Chruches there are in even a single city, much less a state or this entire country?

The content idea seems like it's a good one - but let's talk about some of the biggest box office bonanzas of all time - TITANIC - The biggest money maker EVER - You guys want to tell me the content of that movie was what drew everyone in - or was it repeat customers - i.e. little girls - or the surrounding hype that drew everyone into the theater. Before you go saying that the movie won the Oscar - I have seen Titanic bashed so many times on this site - almost universally as a flaliling piece of garbage it's not even funny.

Then let's take a movie like Independence Day - another huge box office smash - was the content in that movie so astounding for it be one of the box office champs? No - advertising and hype catapulted that flick into the northern hemisphere of box office receipts.

But personally I think the best example of content not being an indicator of why a movie makes so much money is the last two Star Wars movies - These movies as far as fan geeks go are almost like religion - at least the first three were - stories that everyone LOVED and were dying to see more of - so what happened - Episode 1 came out - pretty much divided Star Wars fans everywhere as to it's content - some thinking George Lucas lost it - but yet what happened - IT KILLED - Now then you have a sequel - and that movie continuing the Star Wars lore - and that one is almost as laughably bad - again there is a sharp division of Star Wars Fans on this flick - but it still made a killing.

Content ain't King at the Boxxoffice guys - hype, PRE-BUILT-IN AUDIENCES( Passion and Star Wars) and in this case RELIGION is what catapulted this movie - to believe otherwise is pretty foolish IMO - especially in the face of relatively lukewarm reviews from across the country.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ThePassionoftheChrist-1129941/reviews.php

 

[Cardinals.Ken]

You don't really believe this do you? I mean was it the content of the movie that made The Passion spike over 300 percent over Easter weekend only to fall back out of the top ten again a week later?

Face it guys - this movie made buckets of cash for a couple reasons - The most hype I have ever seen for a movie of it's type - the backlash against it before people even saw it which I believe forced a lot of people out the theaters in almost religious protest - and then numero uno - number 1 reason - Religion and a built in audience are the two biggest factors as far as what drove this film box-officewise. Have you guys ever heard of entire theaters rented out by Churches for a week - this is what was happening - do you know how many Chruches there are in even a single city, much less a state or this entire country?

The content idea seems like it's a good one - but let's talk about some of the biggest box office bonanzas of all time - TITANIC - The biggest money maker EVER - You guys want to tell me the content of that movie was what drew everyone in - or was it repeat customers - i.e. little girls - or the surrounding hype that drew everyone into the theater. Before you go saying that the movie won the Oscar - I have seen Titanic bashed so many times on this site - almost universally as a flaliling piece of garbage it's not even funny.

Then let's take a movie like Independence Day - another huge box office smash - was the content in that movie so astounding for it be one of the box office champs? No - advertising and hype catapulted that flick into the northern hemisphere of box office receipts.

But personally I think the best example of content not being an indicator of why a movie makes so much money is the last two Star Wars movies - These movies as far as fan geeks go are almost like religion - at least the first three were - stories that everyone LOVED and were dying to see more of - so what happened - Episode 1 came out - pretty much divided Star Wars fans everywhere as to it's content - some thinking George Lucas lost it - but yet what happened - IT KILLED - Now then you have a sequel - and that movie continuing the Star Wars lore - and that one is almost as laughably bad - again there is a sharp division of Star Wars Fans on this flick - but it still made a killing.

Content ain't King at the Boxxoffice guys - hype, PRE-BUILT-IN AUDIENCES( Passion and Star Wars) and in this case RELIGION is what catapulted this movie - to believe otherwise is pretty foolish IMO - especially in the face of relatively lukewarm reviews from across the country.

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ThePassionoftheChrist-1129941/reviews.php

So young, so angry...damn that rap music!

 

[Brian in Mesa]

The Passion Recut Coming to Theaters
Source: Variety
February 10, 2005

Mel Gibson has made a new cut of The Passion of The Christ, trimming five to six minutes of violent scenes, reports Variety. The new version, The Passion Recut, will go out on 500-750 screens by Newmarket Films beginning March 11.

The new cut will be unrated, adds the trade. Gibson showed a preliminary version of this version to the ratings board. When it became clear he would still receive an R rating, which his original film bore, Gibson decided that would defeat his purpose.

While the original film grossed $370.2 million on an initial theatrical run that began Ash Wednesday last year, Gibson cut a less-violent version of his film in response to an audience segment that skipped the film because of the depiction of onscreen carnage as Jesus Christ was tortured by Roman troops prior to being crucified.

"There are no new scenes, and the cuts are limited to the more violent aspects of the film, if that's the right term," said Bruce Davey, Gibson's partner in Icon Productions. "The scourging scene in particular has been substantially adjusted."

The film will be released in most major markets across the country. It is expected to run through Easter weekend, and Davey said that this might become a perennial release.