'Passion' draws crowds across the country
'Passion' opens
Feb 26, 2004
When the final theater count was tallied for Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," from Newmarket Films, the New Testament-based drama opened in an ultrawide 3,006 theaters and about 4,643 screens Wednesday, grossing an estimated $15 million-$20 million.
The theater count alone is an unprecedented and remarkable achievement for a foreign-language film that was shot in Aramaic and street Latin with English subtitles and focuses on the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ.
"Passion" has received an incredible amount of coverage in all media, including print, television, the pulpit, the Internet and the water cooler, with opinions and reactions encompassing a wide range of sentiments, both positive and negative.
Gibson directed and co-wrote the independent film, which cost an estimated $25 million to produce and was paid for by Gibson out of his own pocket. The R-rated film stars Jim Caviezel in the title role.
While hard boxoffice numbers for "Passion" were not available Wednesday, Rob Schwartz, senior vp marketing and distribution at Newmarket Films, said in an interview: "It's difficult to know exactly where we're going to end up, but based on the limited information we have now, we're probably looking at somewhere in the high teens for the day. It could end up at $15 million, or it may be $20 million, or anywhere in between. The final number won't be known until Thursday morning."
With a $15 million-$20 million opening day, the five-day total through Sunday for "Passion" should breeze past $60 million -- an impressive debut in anybody's book but especially for a film that was originally considered a labor of love and destined for art house fare.
If the Wednesday estimates play out, that would put "Passion" in some impressive company -- New Line Cinema's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" ($18.2 million), 20th Century Fox's "Independence Day" ($17.4 million, excluding Tuesday night previews) and Sony's "Men in Black" ($14 million, excluding Tuesday night previews). In regards to the biggest Wednesday debuts of all time, "Passion" would rank between the sixth and 10th largest of all time, depending on where the final numbers end up.
If the estimates stay in the high teens, the boxoffice debut for "Passion" would clearly not be an all-time high for a Wednesday opening; that crown goes to New Line's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," with a stunning $34.5 million debut, but it would be by far the biggest outside of the summer and year-end holiday periods. Every Wednesday opening in the list of the top 25 biggest of all time were either during or near the summer and year-end holiday seasons.
Schwartz noted that the estimated boxoffice figure for Wednesday includes about $3 million in advance presales from Monday and Tuesday from private group screenings. Regarding total presales for "Passion," Schwartz said: "From what I've seen on the advance sales from various sources, it looks like it may be in the $15 million range overall. But we have to remember that this is spread out over a one- or two-week period and not just a couple of days."
"Advance sales for 'The Passion' outpaced any other title we've ever played, including 'Return of the King,' which was the prior leader in advance sales," said Rick King, senior vp corporate communications at AMC Theatres. King said that AMC, the second-largest theater chain in North America, does not give out figures on presales. King added that in the case of "Passion," advance sales were primarily comprised of group sales to religious congregations.
AMC has 219 theaters and 3,314 screens in operation in North America, and "Passion" was in 180 of those locations, playing on about 540 screens. King noted that while presales were at record levels, walk-up business also was significant. "Matinee business was brisk, and we have a number of sold-out performances for the evening shows," King said. Schwartz noted that matinee business as of 4 p.m. EST amounted to an estimated $7 million.
Added King: "It's a phenomenal performance for a subtitled foreign-language film, a religious-themed film and for an R-rated film. It will be interesting to watch this unfold -- and there are not any comparables to this film."
Before its release, some industry observers noted that "Passion" may play stronger in the middle of the country as opposed to the East and West coasts and the major metropolitan areas, but according to Schwartz, that has not been the case so far. "From what we've seen so far, the numbers look strong across the board, and there are no weak spots geographically at this point," he said. "We'll have a better idea on Thursday as to where we stand on the breakdowns in the different parts of the country."
As an example, Schwartz noted that at New York's Empire Theatres, a 25-screen AMC complex, the gross was at $43,000 by 4 p.m., while at Quail Springs theaters in Oklahoma City, the gross by that time was $35,000.
"Passion" did have midnight shows in various places in North America, but Schwartz said there were not any numbers available on how many theaters had those showings.
The theater count alone is an unprecedented and remarkable achievement for a foreign-language film that was shot in Aramaic and street Latin with English subtitles and focuses on the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ.
"Passion" has received an incredible amount of coverage in all media, including print, television, the pulpit, the Internet and the water cooler, with opinions and reactions encompassing a wide range of sentiments, both positive and negative.
Gibson directed and co-wrote the independent film, which cost an estimated $25 million to produce and was paid for by Gibson out of his own pocket. The R-rated film stars Jim Caviezel in the title role.
While hard boxoffice numbers for "Passion" were not available Wednesday, Rob Schwartz, senior vp marketing and distribution at Newmarket Films, said in an interview: "It's difficult to know exactly where we're going to end up, but based on the limited information we have now, we're probably looking at somewhere in the high teens for the day. It could end up at $15 million, or it may be $20 million, or anywhere in between. The final number won't be known until Thursday morning."
With a $15 million-$20 million opening day, the five-day total through Sunday for "Passion" should breeze past $60 million -- an impressive debut in anybody's book but especially for a film that was originally considered a labor of love and destined for art house fare.
If the Wednesday estimates play out, that would put "Passion" in some impressive company -- New Line Cinema's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" ($18.2 million), 20th Century Fox's "Independence Day" ($17.4 million, excluding Tuesday night previews) and Sony's "Men in Black" ($14 million, excluding Tuesday night previews). In regards to the biggest Wednesday debuts of all time, "Passion" would rank between the sixth and 10th largest of all time, depending on where the final numbers end up.
If the estimates stay in the high teens, the boxoffice debut for "Passion" would clearly not be an all-time high for a Wednesday opening; that crown goes to New Line's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," with a stunning $34.5 million debut, but it would be by far the biggest outside of the summer and year-end holiday periods. Every Wednesday opening in the list of the top 25 biggest of all time were either during or near the summer and year-end holiday seasons.
Schwartz noted that the estimated boxoffice figure for Wednesday includes about $3 million in advance presales from Monday and Tuesday from private group screenings. Regarding total presales for "Passion," Schwartz said: "From what I've seen on the advance sales from various sources, it looks like it may be in the $15 million range overall. But we have to remember that this is spread out over a one- or two-week period and not just a couple of days."
"Advance sales for 'The Passion' outpaced any other title we've ever played, including 'Return of the King,' which was the prior leader in advance sales," said Rick King, senior vp corporate communications at AMC Theatres. King said that AMC, the second-largest theater chain in North America, does not give out figures on presales. King added that in the case of "Passion," advance sales were primarily comprised of group sales to religious congregations.
AMC has 219 theaters and 3,314 screens in operation in North America, and "Passion" was in 180 of those locations, playing on about 540 screens. King noted that while presales were at record levels, walk-up business also was significant. "Matinee business was brisk, and we have a number of sold-out performances for the evening shows," King said. Schwartz noted that matinee business as of 4 p.m. EST amounted to an estimated $7 million.
Added King: "It's a phenomenal performance for a subtitled foreign-language film, a religious-themed film and for an R-rated film. It will be interesting to watch this unfold -- and there are not any comparables to this film."
Before its release, some industry observers noted that "Passion" may play stronger in the middle of the country as opposed to the East and West coasts and the major metropolitan areas, but according to Schwartz, that has not been the case so far. "From what we've seen so far, the numbers look strong across the board, and there are no weak spots geographically at this point," he said. "We'll have a better idea on Thursday as to where we stand on the breakdowns in the different parts of the country."
As an example, Schwartz noted that at New York's Empire Theatres, a 25-screen AMC complex, the gross was at $43,000 by 4 p.m., while at Quail Springs theaters in Oklahoma City, the gross by that time was $35,000.
"Passion" did have midnight shows in various places in North America, but Schwartz said there were not any numbers available on how many theaters had those showings.
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