Box office: The Case for Christ cracks the top ten

Box office: The Case for Christ cracks the top ten April 11, 2017

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A film about the Resurrection cracked the top ten on the Palm Sunday weekend.

The Case for Christ, which tells the story of how a reporter named Lee Strobel went from atheism to Christianity after researching the death and resurrection of Jesus, landed in tenth place with $3.9 million between Friday and Sunday.

That is the fourth-best opening for a film produced or distributed by Pure Flix, behind Woodlawn and the two God’s Not Dead films — though the new film also had the studio’s fourth-widest release. Pure Flix announced yesterday that it would expand the film’s release from 1,174 theatres to about 1,600 theatres next weekend.

Two other films had weak debuts in wide release this week.

Smurfs: The Lost Village landed in third place with $13.2 million — which is not only the lowest opening of any recent Smurfs movie, but the lowest opening of any non-Aardman film produced by Sony Pictures Animation.

And Going in Style, a remake of a 1979 heist comedy starring Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine, landed in fourth place with $11.9 million — which is the lowest opening of any of the six films that have co-starred Freeman and Caine (the other five being the Dark Knight trilogy and the two Now You See Me movies).

Meanwhile, The Shack landed in 15th place with $1.1 million in its sixth week.

The Shack had the fourth-best first and second weeks, the sixth-best third week, the seventh-best fourth week and the sixth-best fifth week of any “faith-based” film — and this week, if the estimates hold, it will have the eighth-best sixth weekend:

  • 2004 — The Passion of the Christ — $10.6 million
  • 2015 — War Room — $2.82 million
  • 2014 — God’s Not Dead — $2.81 million
  • 2014 — Heaven Is for Real — $2.0 million
  • 2011 — Soul Surfer — $1.8 million
  • 2008 — Fireproof — $1.7 million
  • 2011 — Courageous — $1.5 million
  • 2017 — The Shack — $1.09 million
  • 2016 — Miracles from Heaven — $1.07 million
  • 2002 — Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie — $1.06 million

The Shack has earned $54.9 million after thirty-eight days, and thus still ranks seventh among “faith-based” films in terms of total North American gross…

  • 2004 — The Passion of the Christ — $370.8 million
  • 2014 — Heaven Is for Real — $91.4 million
  • 2015 — War Room — $67.8 million
  • 2016 — Miracles from Heaven — $61.7 million
  • 2014 — God’s Not Dead — $60.8 million
  • 2014 — Son of God — $59.7 million
  • 2017 — The Shack — $54.9 million
  • 2011 — Soul Surfer — $43.9 million
  • 2006 — The Nativity Story — $37.6 million
  • 2016 — Risen — $36.9 million

…and sixth among Bible and/or Jesus films released in the past 40 years:

  • 2004 — The Passion of the Christ — $370.8 million
  • 1998 — The Prince of Egypt — $101.4 million
  • 2014 — Noah — $101.2 million
  • 2014 — Exodus: Gods and Kings — $65 million
  • 2014 — Son of God — $59.7 million
  • 2017 — The Shack — $54.9 million
  • 2009 — Year One — $43.3 million
  • 2006 — The Nativity Story — $37.6 million
  • 2016 — Risen — $36.9 million
  • 1981 — History of the World, Part I — $31.7 million
  • 2016 — Hail, Caesar! — $30.5 million
  • 2016 — Ben-Hur — $26.4 million
  • 2002 — Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie — $25.6 million
  • 1979 — Monty Python’s Life of Brian — $20 million
  • 1980 — Wholly Moses! — $14.2 million
  • 2006 — One Night with the King — $13.4 million
  • 1988 — The Last Temptation of Christ — $8.4 million
  • 2016 — The Young Messiah — $6.5 million
  • 1985 — King David — $5.1 million
  • 2003 — The Gospel of John — $4.1 million

Meanwhile, in other box-office news…

The Boss Baby earned $26.4 million and ranked first in its second week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $89.4 million. The film has earned another $110.4 million overseas, for a global total of $199.7 million.

Beauty and the Beast earned $23.7 million and ranked second in its fourth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $430.9 million. The film has earned another $545.1 million overseas, for a global total of $976 million.

Ghost in the Shell earned $7.3 million and ranked fifth in its second week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $31.5 million. The film has earned another $92.8 million overseas, for a global total of $124.3 million.

Power Rangers earned $6.2 million and ranked sixth in its third week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $75.1 million. The film has earned another $42.1 million overseas, for a global total of $117.2 million.

Kong: Skull Island earned $5.6 million and ranked seventh in its fifth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $156.3 million. The film has earned another $377.8 million overseas, for a global total of $534.1 million.

Get Out earned $4.06 million and ranked eighth in its seventh week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $162.9 million. The film has earned another $13.7 million overseas, for a global total of $176.6 million.

And Logan earned $4.02 million and ranked ninth in its sixth week, thereby raising its domestic cume to $218 million. The film has earned another $378.6 million overseas, for a global total of $596.6 million.

Next week brings us The Fate of the Furious and the wide release of Gifted.


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