Free Republic

With a five-day opening weekend gross of well over $100 million, Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ” is shocking Hollywood in becoming a certified blockbuster.  Even as recently as this past week, the “experts” were predicting a total opening weekend take of $30 million—slightly more than it made on just the first day.   Thus continues the strange odyssey of “The Passion.”  Easily one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood was planning to write and direct a movie about the most famous and revered figure in history.  And the budget would be nothing: $25 million.  The average movie—not the...

We are hearing anecdotal evidence from around the country that a massive audience is developing for The Passion of the Christ consisting of, in some cases, traditionalist Christians who have not been to a theater in decades. In the suburbs of Seattle, Washington, an 85-year old retired aerospace worker who rarely attends movies and whose last foray to the Cineplex was to watch the Omega Code five years ago is ready for a return visit. In Dallas, a 78-year-old social worker who last visited a movie theater in 1985 is also eagerly anticipating her return to her local theater. And...