{"id":42745,"date":"2016-03-20T12:37:42","date_gmt":"2016-03-20T19:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?p=42745"},"modified":"2016-03-20T17:12:07","modified_gmt":"2016-03-21T00:12:07","slug":"box-office-miracles-from-heaven-opens-strong-and-both-of-the-seasons-bible-movies-drop-out-of-the-top-ten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2016\/03\/box-office-miracles-from-heaven-opens-strong-and-both-of-the-seasons-bible-movies-drop-out-of-the-top-ten.html","title":{"rendered":"Box office: Miracles from Heaven<\/i> opens strong, and both of the season’s Bible movies drop out of the top ten"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"miraclesfromheaven6-a\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Last week<\/a>, there were two Bible movies in the top ten at the box office, and this week \u2014 as churches geared up for Palm Sunday \u2014 there were none. But a third film did give the broader \u201cfaith-based\u201d genre its biggest opening in almost two years.<\/p>\n

Miracles from Heaven<\/b><\/i>, which tells the story of a girl suffering from a rare digestive disorder, earned an estimated $15 million between Friday and Sunday<\/a>, for an $18.6 million total since opening on Wednesday. It ranked third for the weekend.<\/p>\n

That is the best opening for a \u201cfaith-based<\/a>\u201d film since Heaven Is for Real<\/a><\/i> came out the Wednesday before Easter in April 2014<\/a>. (Both films were produced by Joe Roth, T.D. Jakes and DeVon Franklin.) And it is the fourth-best opening for a \u201cfaith-based\u201d film ever, behind Heaven Is for Real<\/i>, Son of God<\/a><\/i> and The Passion of the Christ<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, if Risen<\/b><\/i>, which opened four weeks ago, and The Young Messiah<\/b><\/i>, which opened just last week, were hoping to get an Easter-season boost, it failed to materialize, as both films fell out of the top ten altogether this week.<\/p>\n

Risen<\/i> earned an estimated $1.1 million for the weekend, bringing its North American total to $34.4 million. The film opened in several foreign countries this week and has earned another $1 million there, bringing its global total to $35.5 million.<\/p>\n

The Young Messiah<\/i>, meanwhile, dropped 68.2% in its second week \u2014 possibly the steepest second-weekend drop of any Bible film in recent memory<\/a> (previous steepest: Exodus: Gods and Kings<\/a><\/i>, 66.4%) \u2014 and earned only $1 million, bringing its North American total to $5.4 million. The film has earned another $230,940 overseas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Risen<\/i> ranked #12 for the weekend, while The Young Messiah<\/i> ranked #13.<\/p>\n

Risen<\/i> and The Young Messiah<\/i> both cost between $18 million and $20 million to produce. Miracles from Heaven<\/i> had an estimated price tag of $13 million.<\/p>\n

Zootopia<\/b><\/i> continued to rule the box-office charts, with its weekend haul of $38 million bringing its North American total to $201.8 million. The film is now Disney\u2019s sixth-biggest non-Pixar animated hit<\/a>, behind The Lion King<\/i>, Frozen<\/i>, Big Hero 6<\/i>, Beauty and the Beast<\/i> and Aladdin<\/i> \u2014 and it is way ahead of where any of those<\/i> films were in their third weekends. (Frozen<\/i> had earned $164.8 million by now.)<\/p>\n

The biggest new release of the week was The Divergent Series: Allegiant<\/b><\/i>, which earned $29.1 million for the weekend \u2014 well below the $52 million-plus that the previous films in the series opened to. The lower opening may be due in part to the fact that the third book was unpopular with a lot of the series\u2019 fans.<\/p>\n

In other news, Deadpool<\/b><\/i> barely dropped at all in its sixth week, and earned another $8 million for the weekend, thereby bringing its domestic total to $340.9 million. In North America, it still ranks behind its fellow R-rated films The Passion of the Christ<\/i> ($370.8 million) and American Sniper<\/a><\/i> ($350.1 million), but not by much.<\/p>\n

Deadpool<\/i> has earned another $389.7 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $730.7 million. Overseas, among R-rated films, it is still behind The Mermaid<\/a><\/i> ($532.7 million), The Matrix Reloaded<\/a><\/i> ($460.6 million), The Intouchables<\/i> ($416.4 million) and Fifty Shades of Grey<\/i> ($404.8 million) \u2014 only two of which were made in North America. Worldwide, it is second only to The Matrix Reloaded<\/i> ($742.1 million). <\/p>\n

Now for a little more data about the week\u2019s two Bible films:<\/p>\n

Risen<\/i> now ranks ninth among \u201cfaith-based\u201d films in terms of total domestic gross\u2026<\/p>\n