‘Passion’ takes in $15 to $20 million

MSNBC ^ | 02/25/04 | AP

[Pikamax]

‘Passion’ takes in $15 to $20 million This falls short of ‘Spider Man’s’ record $43.6 million The Associated Press Updated: 6:46 p.m. ET Feb. 25, 2004LOS ANGELES - Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” took in an estimated $15 million to $20 million after just one day of release, a remarkable number for a religious-themed movie so divisive that no Hollywood studio would touch it.

advertisement

“The Passion” rang up $7 million in matinee ticket sales alone in the United States and Canada on Wednesday, said Rob Schwartz, head of distribution for Newmarket Films, which Gibson hired to release the movie after studios balked.

[Rocko]

Congratulations, Mel!

[tutstar]

bttt

[tbird5]

Good.

[Pikamax]

'Passion' takes in $15 million to $20 million on first day
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ took in an estimated $15 million to $20 million after just one day of release, a remarkable number for a religious-themed movie so divisive that no Hollywood studio would touch it.

Hundreds in Illinois brave the cold weather to view Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ.
By Brian Kersey, AP

The Passion rang up $7 million in matinee ticket sales alone in the United States and Canada on Wednesday, said Rob Schwartz, head of distribution for Newmarket Films, which Gibson hired to release the movie after studios balked.

With an estimated $3 million from private screenings for church groups Monday and Tuesday in advance of Wednesday's official opening, grosses for The Passion were expected to climb as high as $20 million once evening screenings are counted, Schwartz said.

Final numbers were to be released Thursday.

That falls far short of the single-day record of $43.6 million held by Spider-Man, but The Passion already has passed the receipts that other modern religious films took in during their entire runs, among them The Last Temptation of Christ ($8.4 million) and The Omega Code ($12.5 million).

The Passion opened on 4,643 screens in 3,006 theaters.

"I think the prospects are certainly good for at least hitting $100 million overall. Then again, we have to see how the rest of the weekend plays out," Schwartz said. "Hopefully, if we continue the torrid pace we're starting to set now, that's an achievable number."

Gibson put up the film's $25 million budget out of his own pocket. After theater owners take their cut, about half of the box office take will come back to Gibson, who then pays Newmarket a percentage fee for distribution.

The film, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus, is a bloody depiction of Christ's final hours and crucifixion. The movie's box-office prospects benefited from months of debate as Gibson built grassroots support by screening it for church groups and excluding potential critics, while some Christian and Jewish leaders complained that it could fuel anti-Semitism by implying Jews were collectively responsible for Christ's death

[cripplecreek]

I wonder what the take would have been if it was a weekend opening.

[JoeFromSidney]

I'll be seeing it next week, to avoid the weekend crowd.

[AMDG&BVMH]

"The Passion already has passed the receipts that other modern religious films took in during their entire runs, among them The Last Temptation of Christ ($8.4 million) "

Surely they jest; "The Last Temptation of Christ" is not a religious film.

[dawn53]

And are they counting the ticket sales from Monday and yesterday?

I can pretty much guarantee you they'll try to low ball whatever the actual figure is.

And how can they know how much it's going to take in tonight. It's showing on 10 screens in between 7 and 7:30 at the two theaters in our town, then there are shows all the way up till 10:30 tonight.

[Riley]

Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” took in an estimated $15 million to $20 million after just one day of release, a remarkable number for a religious-themed movie so divisive that no Hollywood studio would touch it.

There's a message here, Hollywood, but you'll misunderstand it, of course. Mel will rake in a bundle, people will be moved by the movie, and you'll try to capitalize on it with a bunch of knock offs.

We're not all about subsidizing 'what you can get away with', or 'what will pass muster'. What we're really about, you can't make.

Gibson didn't make this film to make money. He did it to share his faith. You'll hire some evangelist, give him some creative license, then ignore most of what he says.

If you're meeting in some SoCal boardroom and trying to figure out how to beat Mel's film, you have already failed.

[mewzilla]

They can't know. These are estimates. And you're right, they're lowballing them.

[JustAnAmerican]

"After theater owners take their cut, about half of the box office take will come back to Gibson

Then why in the Farfrignugin do we pay so much for the Candy/Popcorn/Soda in theaters? And here I have been paying for theater snacks on the assumption that was how they made the money to show the films. Lesson learned, Snack from home or the corner store instead of theater prices from now on.

As an asside, I have every intention of going to see this movie this or next weekend, as are most of the people I know.

[nutmeg]

‘Passion’ takes in $15 to $20 million ... That falls far short of the single-day record of $43.6 million held by “Spider-Man,”

Can you believe this? Already they're gleefully proclaiming the movie some sort of failure, because it "falls far short" of another mainstream movie. Well, excuse me... it's only 7:30pm on the east coast. I can't wait until tomorrow morning to hear what the final take for Wednesday was.

So far so good, though... CONGRATULATIONS MEL! :-)

[Tempest]

Errr. . . Let's not forget that this movie is also rated R and should be considered a foreign language film. Pretty big hurdles to overcome if you ask me.

[EggsAckley]

KA-CHING!!

[nutmeg]

And how can they know how much it's going to take in tonight.

I know... it's only 7:45 here on the east coast! What about all the Wednesday, Feb 25 showings of the film in the Western US (including Alaska and Hawaii)??? Geesh...

[satchmodog9]

I do not think Spidey had an R rating.

[nutmeg]

ping!

[Riley]

I can't wait until tomorrow morning to hear what the final take for Wednesday was.

"Gibson's passion play, a box office flop which made less on its opening night than the national debt..."

[Moby Grape]

Passion did not open on a WEEKEND...if it had, it may well have broken the record.