Box Office Mojo - 'Passion' Plays On: $64.6M in Three Days

It is an art-house movie. It even has an art-house distributor in Newmarket (FOX passed even though they have a first look deal with Gibson's Icon Productions). If not for the interest from the public and from the theater chains, this would be playing at the Angelika and few other places. Newmarket doesn't exactly have a lot of pull to snap theaters into line and pick up product they don't want.

 

Oops, one last one. You posted at the same time I was posting to B-Bob - see clarification here:

 

Hi Manny,
1. I personally don't find it hard to believe, especially when I first heard about the project. More recently, I have found the selling of "Passion of Christ" paraphenalia to be spiritually insulting to me. However, I still believe Gibson deeply *needed* to make this film, and that he is sincere.

2. Well, I hear you, but it's in the public eye. Again, Gibson did not choose to "pray in a closet" (one of my favorite teachings, actually). I understand why we disagree here.

3. I don't think you ever told outlaw any such thing. I wasn't meaning to point to you. I don't recall who posted what, but outlaw kept turning the other cheek certainly.

I'll step out also.

 

Update, without comment, but some bold face on the numbers:
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What Mel's Passion Will Earn Him (from Forbes' website)
Penelope Patsuris, 03.03.04, 11:00 AM ET

At the close of its fifth day in theaters, the controversial The Passion of the Christ movie officially grossed $125.2 million, and industry experts anticipate that the international box office sales could hit $650 million by the end of its run. That's the third-best five-day opening ever, behind Time Warner's (nyse: TWX - news - people ) Matrix Reloaded and Sony's (nyse: SNE - news - people ) Spider-Man, beating out blockbusters like Academy Award darling Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Walt Disney Co.'s (nyse: DIS - news - people ) Finding Nemo.

Gibson and his Icon Productions outfit provided the film's sole backing, spending about $30 million on production costs and an estimated $15 million on what have been exceptionally successful marketing and advertising efforts. Those costs already have been covered--a feat in and of itself. "That's a lot more than most movies do. Most don't break even with just domestic distribution." says BoxOfficeMojo.com President Brandon Gray. "Normally they need international box office, and rental and sales income from DVDs and video [to do that]."

The early box office numbers suggest that Passion could rake in $350 million in the U.S. and Canada, and possibly another $300 million internationally, depending upon the kind of distribution it gets overseas. Assuming Gibson has typical arrangements with theaters and his distributor, Newmarket Films, he should personally pocket 40% to 50% of that $650 million gross.

Gibson also gets a cut of the sales of Passion merchandise, including mugs and nail pendants, which could really add up: The Christian retail market is worth an estimated $4.2 billion. Licensing deals vary widely, but studios--in this case Gibson's company--generally get between 9% and 15% of the products' wholesale values. Critics have questioned how tasteful it is to peddle replicas of the nails used to affix Christ to the cross. But Motive Entertainment President Paul Lauer, who headed up the movie's marketing efforts, says he's teamed up with Christian retailing veterans.

Next is the film's release on DVD and video, expected sometime this summer, by Fox Entertainment (nyse: FOX - news - people ). On the basis of box office sales thus far, Alexander & Associates media research outfit principle Bob Alexander estimates that at least 8 million copies of the film will be sold. Translation: roughly another $75 million for Mel. "The wild card with this movie is that this is not just entertainment, it's a religious experience for people," says Alexander. He thinks people will be more inclined to buy such a movie as a gift, and expects that religious organizations will buy it in bulk.

Mel Gibson fell off of the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2003, after making the cut in both 2002 and 2001. But he's sure to have that stature restored, thanks to the piles of money that this movie stands to make and the copious press coverage that it's received.

 

Not that my opinion means jack, but I'll share it anyway...

...I am very happy to see what has happened with this movie. I cannot say that I am surprised. In a world where evil is constantly glorified, it is quite refreshing to see good glorified for a change.

Hats off to ya Mel. I hope there is a sequel.

 

ok, i only have one question after seeing the movie tonight. i've read the thread (most of it anyways) in the Hangout and this one. got tired of people arguing about its inaccuracies and didn't find what i was looking for. his my question. what was the point or significance of the baby in satan's arms during christ's scourging?

 

great question...i have absolutely no idea what that was about...i have some ideas...but they're just guesses.

 

anyone read Charles Krauthammer's column in the Chronicle today? it was very anti-Passion. I think this is the first time that I've ever agreed with one of his writings. Ewww I feel so dirty.

 

i didn't read his article yet, so i can't really comment on it.

by the way...have you seen the movie yet?

 

no, not yet. but if i do i won't be paying for it.

 

i look forward to your comments AFTER you see the movie.

maybe if i read that article i'll give you my comments on it...again, i'd hate to comment on an article without reading it first.

 

I saw those Nail pendents on tv, that's just disgusting to me. "Hey look at me, I've got Jesus nails!"

 

It makes me mad when people talk about the gore in this move and how you shouldn't let your kids see it. All this commotion over a movie based upon God when they let movies like Amaerican Pie which has alot of nudity and the filthiest languages you can imagine in this. Where is allt he critics at talking about how bad this movie is? Where are the bad ratings that get scattered along nation TV about the harmfulness of it? But when someone gets smart and tries to show the world what Jesus went through for us, everyone wants to get it taken away.

 

Yeah, see, that really gets to me at a deep level when we're discussing the distribution and intent of the film. The marketing numbers, the nails, and the coffee mugs are in the article I posted above.

I had hoped the movie producers were not behind the crap being sold in the name of Christ, but indeed, they are behind it.

I honestly don't think this is sinister or shows that Mel wanted to make a buck more than he wanted to celebrate and glorify his lord, but I think it underlines the extent to which some people pick and choose what parts of their doctrine they want to follow.

"My wife is going to hell because she is not in my exact faith, but heck, Jesus wouldn't mind me making a little money on crucifix nails, would he? What did he say about money again, I forget. Whatever. He's awesome!"

 

Why? Every movie review I have read has said this is the most violent film they have ever seen, bar none. I truly and sincerely hope that parents treat this film as an NC-17 film, and I'm sincerely glad I was never made to watch something that violent at a tender age, be it religious in intent or not.

 

It is rated R. It's gory, I'm sure. But if an underaged child see's this movie, they will be taught that it shows Jesus went through all of that hellish fight for us. This movie was sent out only for good intentions.

There are people out there who say Britney Spears is a good role model for young kids. She kissed another woman on national tv (infront of millions of kids) just to get people "talking" again. You heard about it internationally for a good 2 weeks. Thiese critics have been against this movie publically for 2 months now.

I believe they want people to stop believing in the Bible. Taking it out of schools was crazy. The world, humanity, and life itself has declined tremedously after that.

 

To say nothing of spelling and grammar! just kidding, LT. We have very different perspectives, but I have nothing against the movie, and I have nothing in particular to advocate in B. Spears as a role-model.

I will suggest though that people are not really out scheming against the Bible. I think that belief is just too paranoid. I'm fairly liberal and scientific, so you'd think I would be a conspirator against the good book, but no. I like the Bible just fine. It's one of many wonderful things to train our god-given brains upon. Best wishes to you.

 

this guy is a credit to your profession B-bob

Man Suspended for His 'Passion' for Teaching

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" has gotten one elementary school teacher suspended.

Ronald Anthony, a teacher at Malcolm X Elementary in Washington D.C., showed his pupils unauthorized excerpts from the controversial, R-rated movie, causing school officials to place him on paid leave, according to the AP.

After a parent complained about the incident to school officials, Anthony admitted that he showed his sixth-grade students part of the film on Tuesday, March 2.

Elfreda Massie, the interim superintendent for District of Columbia Public Schools, says that Anthony "used poor judgment" when he tried to supplement his students understanding of social studies. A note was sent home to parents on Wednesday, saying that "Passion" shouldn't have been shown to the 16 students.

Investigators are looking into how Anthony obtained the pirated copy of the film, which is currently playing in theaters.

http://www.zap2it.com/movies/news/story/0,1259,---20740,00.html

 

You don't have kids, do you.

I wouldn't take my "underage" son and daughter to see Saving Private Ryan, an excellent, but extremely violent, movie that begins with a 20 minute non-stop, graphically reproduced little corner of hell called D-Day. Why on earth would I want to have my children subjected to seeing a man flayed alive, have the skin ripped from his bones, have large nails, pewter or not, driven through his feet and hands, and left to bleed to death on a cross?

Oh, sure.

 

Where were you in the Evolution thread dude?