More Faith-Based Films Set to Surprise at Box Office
‘I Can Only Imagine’ Might Not Be March’s Only Faith-Based Box Office Surprise Hit. How will those other films perform in the lead up to Easter Sunday?
http://www.indiewire.com/2018/03/i-can-only-imagine-box-office-surprise-hit-1201941040/
This week, Sony’s Columbia Pictures arm will release its historical drama “Paul, Apostle of Christ” in 1,400 theaters. Despite the title, the film has been marketed as something of a two-hander between a pair of Jesus’ best-known followers, the eponymous convert Paul (played by James Faulkner) and his close compatriot Luke (played by Jim Caviezel, well-known for his turn as Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ”), picking up after the death of Jesus Christ. As is often the case with movies that appeal to faith-based audiences, the official website is already touting sales for group tickets, including a page for such purchases that allow groups to buy out whole theaters and showtimes.
In October, Pure Flix will release another sequel, “Unbroken: Path to Redemption,” a Christian-leaning follow-up to the Angelina Jolie-directed Louis Zamperini biopic “Unbroken.” None of the Jolie film’s original cast or crew is involved with the film, which follows the war hero upon his return to the States after being held as a prisoner of war during World War II and his eventual turn to born-again Christianity. (It’s also not the first Zamperini film to focus on his post-WWII life: In 2015, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association released its own documentary about his later years, many of them spent following the recently deceased Evangelical Christian minister). While “The Passion of the Christ” continues to rule as the biggest Christian hit — from an indie distributor to boot — to ever hit the box office, it’s trailed by the trio of “Chronicles of Narnia” movies, which round out the rest of the all-time top four. Those movies were based on the beloved novels by C.S. Lewis, and notably, “I Can Only Imagine” bested yet another big screen adaptation of a beloved faith-based children’s novel when it beat Ava DuVernay’s “A Wrinkle in Time” at this weekend’s box office.
The “Narnia” franchise may have slowed down after its own diminishing returns, but even that series is poised to rise again in its hopes of capturing the underserved kid-centric segment of faith-based moviegoers. Joe Johnston has been tapped to direct a fourth film, “The Silver Chair,” meant to serve as a reboot for the series. It’s not dead yet.