War Room Now the #1 Movie in the US. How Long Can It Continue Its Run?

War Room dropped a slight 18% in its second week, taking in $9.3M for the three-day domestic box office and the #1 spot on the charts. As far as the opening films, A Walk in the Woods, with $8.2M, ambled past The Transporter Refueled, which made $7.2M.

Neither of those films could move Straight Outta Compton out of the #2 spot.

The last time that a film failed to open at #1, only to rise to do so later, wasn't that long ago. Inside Out, in its third weekend, took #1 over the Fourth of July holiday, finally moving past Jurassic World, in its fourth week of release.

War Room rose from second to first place thanks in part to a 34% boost in screens. The Sony title raised its total to $27.9M. Nice comparison to Heaven Is For Real and Fireproof.

Universal is reporting that Jurassic World crossed the $1B threshold at the international box office. It's only the fourth film to ever reach the milestone joining 2009's Avatar ($2.027B) 1997's Titanic, ($1.528B) and this year's Furious 7 ($1.162B).

Another Faith Film Shocks Hollywood with Box Office - War Room Opens in Second Place

The faith-based drama War Room delivered a terrific opening in second place despite playing in only 1,135 locations as the Sony release grossed an estimated $11M. The PG-rated movie, which beat Compton (this week's #1 title) in theaters on Friday, had a robust $9,692 per screen average.

War Room, however, was the story of the weekend. Sony's faith-based film from their Affirm division flew so far under the radar that it didn't even get a Cinemascore. But it nearly stole Compton's title and, at the same time, became the biggest hit for the Kendrick brothers. Their modestly-budgeted flicks have a great return on investment. War Room has a reported budget of $3.5M while their 2011 Courageous had a $2M budget, going on to a domestic cume of $34.5. Their 2008 Fireproof had a $33.5M domestic cume on a budget of $500K.

New Faith Film "Beyond The Mask" Hopes to Make Name with Special Effects

A new faith film "Beyond the Mask" is coming to theaters on April 6 bringing history to life with a talented cast, powerful script and quality special effects.

Starring John Rhys-Davies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Lord of the Rings), Andrew Cheney, Kara Killmer, and Adetokumboh M'Cormack, "Beyond the Mask" features the adventures of William, a leading mercenary for the British East India Trading Company who has just been double-crossed and is on the run in the American Colonies. In order to redeem his name and win back the affections of the woman whose trust he lost, William hides behind a mask in hopes of thwarting his former boss. William must race against time to defuse a plot of historical proportions with help from his beloved Charlotte as well as Ben Franklin.

Written by Paul McCusker with help from "Courageous" scriptwriter Stephen Kendrick, "Beyond the Mask" celebrates grace, liberty, and true freedom that can only be found in Christ.

"It's unlike just about any movie I've ever seen," Kendrick said.

The Christian filmmaker, who co-wrote "Fireproof" along with his brother Alex Kendrick, went on to praise "Beyond the Mask" for ushering in a new era for faith-based films.

"This movie has more green screen shots and CG effects than any other live action Christian film in history," Kendrick explained. "The real adventure has been their creative climb of that digital Everest."

Hitmakers Behind Courageous and Fireproof Go Independent

The production team behind the hit movies, Courageous, Fireproof and Facing the Giants have launched a new production company.

With the support and blessing of their pastor, Alex and Stephen have expanded their movie making endeavors beyond Sherwood Baptist Church's walls.  Kendrick Brothers Productions has launched an independent movie production company designed to partner with believers across the nation and help train the next generation of Christian filmmakers. The Kendrick brothers plan to make their next movie under this new paradigm.

Pastor Catt said, “Jim and I are blessed to call Alex and Stephen our friends and co-laborers for the Gospel. They will continue to live in Albany and be an active part of the ministry of Sherwood Baptist Church. We love these guys and are grateful for God sending them to our staff over a decade ago. It will be exciting for us to take the steps of faith required to see where God will take us. No matter what lies ahead, this has been an incredible ride for all of us. Our prayers are with them as they pursue future endeavors.”

In a recent update on their site, Stephen posted that filming will begin next week:

Over the last five months we set up a production office, conducted online and live casting sessions, locked in our crew, and scouted the needed locations for the story. Every location is visually rich and completely fresh to us. God has provided an amazing cast of strong believers. Some are new faces to us, others you will recognize from our previous films, and there are a few surprises that many will recognize from the Christian ministry world. The Lord has also provided an excellent crew of Christian filmmakers and film-school interns. Many of them have been praying for God to open the door for them to work on a movie project that honors Him. Our production office is humming along. Lots of buzz. Tons of progress every day. We are very grateful that multiple pastors and churches are working together and surrounding this effort in prayer.

Faith-Based Movies: In Hollywood To Stay?

Deadline has a nice overview of the recent faith-movie trend:

After the strong staying power of this weekend’s God’s Not Dead and the stronger than expected opening of Noah following on the heels of the surprise opening of Son of God earlier this year, is there any doubt anymore Hollywood that if you build it, they will come? That’s three for three … but wait, actually there’s more. Back in 2008, the Kirk Cameron-starring Fireproof took a lot of people by surprise. On a $500,000 budget raised by Sherwood Baptist church, the faith-based picture ended up grossing $33.4M when it was released. They did it again in 2011, when on a $2M budget, Courageous opened to $9.1M and went onto make $34.5M. Before that, in 2004, the Mel Gibson-directed The Passion of the Christ opened to $83.8M domestically and went on to gross $611M worldwide.

“I think that is a smart assumption,” Megan Colligan, president of domestic marketing and distribution for Paramount told Deadline. 

The next heavenly story up will be Heaven Is For Real, based on the 2010 book written by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent. The book debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times best-sellers list and then rose to No. 1. Sony purchased rights to the book in 2011 and Randall Wallace (Braveheart) is directing. The movie stars Greg Kinnear (As Good as It Gets). Unaided awareness for the film is pretty low at the moment two weeks out, but with the right marketing campaign, Sony could pull off the fourth faith-based film to open decently.

Affirm Films, which typically gears its features toward evangelical Christians, has the family comedy Moms’ Night Out starring Patricia Heaton, Sean Astin and Trace Adkins opening on May 9, Mother's Day Weekend.  Affirm made $43.9 million stateside with the $18 million-budgeted Soul Surfer in April 2011. On October 3, the Nicolas Cage action film Left Behind about a commercial airline pilot steering his plane in the aftermath of the rapture will be released.  Then on December 12, Fox releases Exodus, which is more along the lines of the big-budget Noah. The Biblical tale in Exodus is that of Moses as played by Christian Bale who leads the Israelites out of Egypt to a safe haven. Will it be epic? It’s a Ridley Scott movie.

So will there be more of these Biblical/faith-based films, and can they be sustainable past their first opening weekends and, more importantly, churn a profit for the filmmakers and distributors? “It’s a good question and I don’t know the answer to that,” said Fox’s Chris Aronson. “As far as sustainability and profitability, it’s hard to say because of the differences in the budgets. There are plenty of examples of faith-based films that have been smartly marketing and targeted to a faith-based audiences that have been successful. It proves that there is an appetite for it, but I think that credibility is an issue as well.” He notes that filmmakers and distribs must be involved in catering toward faith-based audiences. “You can’t pull the wool over the faith-based audiences eyes because they will see it and reject it. And I think (Son of God producers) Mark Burnett and Roma Downey had ultimate credibility because they went directly to the opinion makers in the faith-based community and showed that they had the goods.”

Usually, the way these pictures perform is that they open strong and then fall off. That was the case for Son of God which dropped about 60% in its second weekend, but despite that, this re-edited film from History's The Bible series footage, has grossed $57.9M as of this weekend. 

God’s Not Dead had the third-highest per screen with around $7,714 per screen in its second weekend; third only behind Noah ($12,335) and Budapest Hotel ($9,007). Its per screen average is also above the second weekend of Lionsgate’s franchise in the making Divergent ($6,732). It only fell 1% in its second weekend out. Easter is around the corner. So will it do well through Easter or was this second weekend a fluke? Was it helped by the power of Duck Dynasty (with stars Willie and Korie Robertson) who made an appearance and helped to promote the film?

The lesson to studio heads and marketers is — whether its Noah, God’s Not Dead, Son Of God, Fireproof or Courageous – there is an audience for Biblical films. Perhaps, it takes a thoughtful approach to pull it off. Son of God played well across the country, but Roma and Mark had and took the time to meet with church leaders and listen to them and then incorporate marketing and distribution strategies to open the film to the particular audience.

Tapping into the faith-based audience means speaking directly to these infrequent moviegoers in a way that is credible on a budget that is reasonable. They have proven to be bankable. So, say, a major star anchors one of these — instead of a Kevin Sorbo or Kirk Cameron — and makes a financially-responsible deal for all parties involved, it could prove a new audience for that star and also a nice sum for all profit participants. Also at the same time, these pictures give exhibitors the kind of lower-end budgeted movies that are often more profitable than the Hollywood tentpoles.

These individuals may be infrequent moviegoers for mainstream movies, but they are frequent moviegoers for Biblical and faith-based films. And as Fortune 500 companies have found in developing new products for a new market, there are pitfalls, yes, but if and when you hit it’s a goldmine of loyal customers. And for a star, it could be their biggest openings to date, which was the case for Russell Crowe this weekend in Noah. Combining its marketing to faith-based and to mainstream action audiences, Paramount pulled it off. And Crowe and the studio can thank, in no small part, Emma Watson and her team for her strong social media footprint (and savvy on how to utilize it).

Aronson sums it up nicely: “What this shows is that there is an appetite for these type of movies and that there is a particular segment of the population that is being terribly under-served and if you give them the product they want to see, they will come.”

read full Deadline article

God's Not Dead Is America's Fifth Most Popular Movie This Week

At just 780 locations, God's Not Dead earned an incredible $8.56 million. That ranks seventh all-time among faith-based movies, and ranks first among those opening in fewer than 1,000 theaters. It's a bit below Courageous ($9.1 million), but above Fireproof ($6.8 million).

The PG-rated film about a college student who is challenged by his professor to prove God's existence was driven by solid advance ticket sales and by church-based outreach. Kevin Sorbo and Dean Cain starred and Duck Dynasty's popular Willie and Korie Robertson made a cameo which was used in the marketing push.

God's Not Dead had a grassroots marketing effort targeted specifically at Christians, who often feel neglected by Hollywood. In addition to the Duck Dynasty stars, popular Christian band Newsboys (who have an album titled "God's Not Dead") were also featured in the film. At least as important was its intriguing story, which centered around a devout Christian college student's philosophical battle with his atheist professor (Kevin Sorbo).

Distributor Freestyle Releasing is looking to expand the movie next weekend. With good word-of-mouth, this could ultimately earn over $30 million total.

Could China’s growing influence in Hollywood affect Christian-themed movies?

Last year, China surpassed Japan as the second-largest box office in the world – with theater earnings up 36 percent from the previous year.

Experts now anticipate that in the next five to seven years, the world’s most populous country will jump the United States in gross box office. This means, whether Hollywood studios like it or not, they will likely have to tailor films to suit the Chinese market and appeal to the country’s Communist Party censorship regulations, if they want to have their movies shown there.

Experts tell Fox News this could be a particular problem for films with a strong faith-based theme.

Even though the Chinese government boasts on its website that "China is a country of great religious diversity and freedom of religious belief. It has over 100 million followers of various faiths” that doesn’t mean the Communist Party exactly embraces content promoting a Christian agenda.

“Christian-themed movies are generally shunned by the Chinese film authorities,” added Robert Cain, a veteran producer and longtime liaison between Hollywood and China. “I doubt any of the studios would bother submitting them.”

That would mean turning your back on the world’s second biggest box office, and potentially the biggest in coming years, which could be hard for many producers and studios to do.

“As much as American filmmakers want their freedom of expression, it comes down to money. The film industry is a business, and with China set to be the number one in the film market in the near future, Hollywood needs to look out for themselves,” explained entertainment litigation attorney, Dr. Dariush Adli. “Films will continue to be censored according to Chinese guidelines and even created according to these rules. All foreign films, dealing with anything from religion to gambling, have to be screened and pass the test of China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). This means that many studio productions are modified or refused completely. Until rules and regulations are changed on SARFT's end, Christian films will always have a hard time passing Chinese censorship.”

That means the decision whether to green light a faith-based movie will be even harder, given the success of these types of movies domestically. One only has to look at the recent ratings success of History Channel’s five-part miniseries “The Bible” which premiered with a whopping 13 million viewers this year and held steady at around 10 million watchers each week, to understand that the desire for Christian entertainment in the U.S. is strong.

There is also the domestic box office success of several religious-themed films in recent times – in 2004 “Passion of the Christ” brought in $370 million, 2006’s “The Nativity Story” made $37 million, 2008’s Kirk Cameron-starring “Fireproof” pocketed $33 million, 2009’s “The Blind Side” made $256 million, and 2011’s “Soul Surfer” made a domestic gross of almost $44 million.

But Christianity does appear to be growing in China. Ted Baehr, founder of the faith and traditional values entertainment site Movieguide.com, insists that the Christian genre does well around the world, and that there has been a push for the website to run a service in China.

“According to Niall Ferguson, the author of ‘Six Killer Apps,’ Christianity is growing faster in China than in any other country and there are now more bibles being printed in China than anywhere else in world,” Alderson added. “Thus an emerging Christian influence in Chinese film-making is possible, although it is likely to be subtle and indirect.”

Read full article

Is 'The Lost Medallion' the Indiana Jones for the Next Generation?

“The Lost Medallion,” an action adventure film targeting tweens, appears to be an “Indiana Jones” for the next generation with spiritual nuggets to ponder as well.

Alex Kendrick, co-producer & co-director of Facing the Giants, Fireproof & Courageous states:


“The Lost Medallion is a wholesome movie that will take you back to a more innocent time but will keep you on the edge of your seat. My kids loved it and have watched it again and again. You’ll be blessed by The Lost Medallion and I’m guessing that you will still be talking about it with friends and family for a long time after you leave the theater."

Ring The Bell

Ring The Bell, the first feature film from Mark A. Miller, begins production on Monday, March 5. Miller is the lead singer and founder of the country music group Sawyer Brown, and is taking a break from the band's 30th anniversary tour to produce the film.

When slick high -powered agent Rob Decker arrives looking for his next major league prospect, he finds more than he bargained for at the Cooke Boys Ranch. As he works to secure Shawn Hart, the top high school baseball prospect in the country, he encounters a cast of characters who value happiness and common sense over dollars and cents. Filled with music, laughter and faith, Ring The Bell is a transforming story of how one fast-paced executive learns the true meaning of success.

The film features a host of well known Christian music artists: Mark Hall and Casting Crowns, Steven Curtis Chapman and Matthew West all play a role in this inspirational drama There are also several former Major League Baseball stars who will be featured in the film, including ESPN analyst John Kruk and Cy Young Award winning pitcher Rick Sutcliffe. The script was written by Mark A. Miller and Thomas Weber, and Weber will direct the production. Ring The Bell is the first release from Whitney Beach Pictures.

Provident Films (October Baby, Courageous, Fireproof) is a partner in the marketing and distribution of the movie. Specific plans and timing will be announced at a future date.

Whitney Beach Pictures is a partnership between Steve Williams and Mark A. Miller's Beach Street Music, the label behind platinum-selling Christian recording artist Casting Crowns. Ring The Bell is the first in a slate of faith-based films to be produced by the independent studio.

Kirk Cameron to Release a 'Monumental' New Film

It's been four years since Kirk Cameron appeared in "Fireproof," but he hasn't been resting. Working on his latest film "Monumental," Cameron is looking to make an even bigger impact this time around, tackling family, politics, and spirituality in America.

"Monumental: In Search of America's National Treasure" is Cameron's latest effort. The film captures his personal journey through American and European history, visiting historical sites to capture what has made America the "freest, securest, prosperous, and healthy" nation in the world.

Full article here.

Courageous Opens in Fourth Place

"Courageous" was the only one of this week's new movie releases to improve from estimates to actuals, and it passed "50/50" in the process to take fourth place. The movie debuted to $9.1 million from just 1,161 theaters for a strong per-theater average of $7,806. That's up from the studio's last movie Fireproof ($6.8 million), though the average was off just a bit. The opening ranks fifth all-time for a Christian movie, and only trails "The Passion of the Christ" and the three "Narnia" movies. "Courageous" scored a rare "A+" CinemaScore, and the audience was 53 percent female and 77 percent over the age of 25.

Made outside of Hollywood without any major stars, "Courageous" managed to fly under most radars until very recently. It will be interesting to see if "Courageous" can hold as well as "Fireproof" did when it went on to earn $33.46 million, or nearly five times its opening weekend, in 2008.

Dolphin Tale Rises to #1 Spot

Despite four new movies in release, the top three films from last weekend remained unchanged, although their order certainly saw some shuffling. Dolphin Tale rose from third to first place, Moneyball stayed in second and two-time champ The Lion King 3D fell to third. New releases saw mostly mild results although the inspirational drama Courageous delivered a potent debut in fifth and was the only wide release to average more than $5,000 over the weekend.

 Terrific word-of-mouth helped Dolphin Tale capture the top spot with an estimated $14.2M in its second weekend as its decline of 26% was quite low. The Warner Bros. release has grossed $37.5M in ten days and could be headed for $70-80M total. It follows films like The Help and The Blind Side as uplifting stories that never opened at number one, but climbed into the top spot later due to strong buzz from audiences. Dolphin Tale is the second true and touching tale of overcoming adversity from the producers of The Blind Side.

Generating the only impressive opening among the quartet of new titles, Sony's fatherhood cop drama Courageous premiered a hair behind in fifth with an estimated $8.8M while playing in only 1,161 theaters which was less than half as many playdates as any other film in the top ten. The strong $7,580 per-theater average was by far the best for any film in wide release and some distributors project that it will gross more than 50/50 when final numbers are tallied on Monday. Courageous was produced for a mere $2M by Sherwood Pictures.

The PG-13 film successfully entertained its target audience and scored a sparkling A+ from CinemaScore. The studio went after faith-based audiences with its marketing campaign and drew large crowds at its moderate number of locations. Big cities were not very relevant with Manhattan having only one theater showing the film. Females made up 53% of the crowd while the older-skewing pic drew 77% that were over 25. The debuted improved upon the $6.8M bow of the producer's Fireproof from 2008 which went on to gross a solid $33.5M - five times its opening. Courageous will become a big money maker by giving its audience the entertainment it wants while keeping production and marketing costs low.

Tony Dungy: 'Courageous' Movie Will Impact Men

Former NFL coach Tony Dungy has watched the upcoming film "Courageous," and he wants other men to do so as well. "It's a great movie. I think men, especially, are going to look at this and really connect and identify," Dungy said recently. "Every guy who looks at this [movie]," Dungy said, "is going to see themselves in some way and say, 'How can I be better with the hole in my parenting?' I think it's going to be special."

Courageous, which opens Sept. 30, is the latest film from Sherwood Pictures which also made "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants." With a police force as the film's backdrop, the story follows five men as they seek to become better fathers. Most reviewers who have seen Courageous are calling it the best film yet from Sherwood.

The Auburn Tigers football team took a break from practice and team meetings this summer for a screening and it was received quite well by the team. Head coach Gene Chizik called Courageous a "tremendous movie with a great message." "I want this to hit you because it's got nothing to do with football," Chizik told the team. "It's about you being a man. That, long after all this is over, is the most important thing, and it's not even close." Ken Bevel, who plays officer Nathan Hayes in Courageous, said he was honored to watch the screening with the defending national champions.

"The Grace Card" Opens in Top 20

The Grace Card is a dramatic film that intends to illustrate the everyday opportunities that people have have to rebuild relationships and heal deep wounds by extending and receiving God’s grace. The film stars Louis Gossett, Jr. and Michael Joiner. It was released on February 25, 2011 to 363 theaters, grossing $1,010,299 on opening weekend - good enough to land in the 16th position.

"The Grace Card" was conceived by its first-time director, Dr. David Evans, a Memphis optometrist making the leap into filmmaking with the support of his congregation, the Calvary Church of the Nazarene in Cordova TN, the film's "sponsoring church."

The success of "Fireproof" with Kirk Cameron, a low-budget 2008 movie produced by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., that earned $33 million at the box office, provided inspiration for Evans and his supporters.

A self-described "modern evangelical" and "20-year pro" in Hollywood who co-wrote Clint Eastwood's "Space Cowboys," among other films, screenwriter and producer Howie Klausner, rewrote Evans' original script and joined the production after deciding he wanted to help Christian films "grow up." He describes "The Grace Card" as a cop movie with a spiritual twist.

Academy Award winning actor Louis Gossett Jr., who earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1983 for his role as a tough Marine sergeant in "An Officer and a Gentleman," said he was attracted to "The Grace Card" because he's interested in "nourishing stories" that complement his faith in God and his work as the founder of The Eracism Foundation.

Fireproof Remains in Top 5 on DVD Sales Chart

After its impressive debut at #2 last week, Fireproof remains in the top 5 despite a 52% drop (on par with most of its competition). It has now sold 815,000 units in two weeks.

Fireproof DVD Premieres at #2

Fireproof has translated its stunning box office success (over $33 million) into record DVD sales. It's in the second position in DVD sales behind Open Season 2 which outperformed it by only 4,000 units.

Fireproof Proves to be a $30 Million Winner

Fireproof remains in the Top 20 at the Box Office (currently #13) and has passed $30 million in ticket sales. Not too shabby for a movie with an approximate budget of $500K.

Hopefully the box office receipts are indicative of this film's impact on our culture and that positive influence will be magnified over time. It's also great to see a movie that effectively uses Christian music so well embraced.

Fireproof Passes $23 Million

Fireproof has passed $23 million in ticket sales and just missed remaining in the Top 10 for the fifth straight week!

This total doubles the amount their last movie, Facing the Giants, pulled in and eclipses their budget 40-fold.

The music effectively uses music by Christian artists.

Fireproof opens today

Fireproof, the new film by the Kendrick brothers, is opening today. IMDB is predicting a Top 10 opening. As previously mentioned, the film effectively uses music including Warren Barfield as seen here:



There's a nice article on the Today show site.

Fireproof

We were able to attend a pre-screening of Fireproof, the new movie by the makers of Facing the Giants, last night at the Fox Theatre. It's an inspiring and convicting film and effectively uses music from Third Day, Casting Crowns, Warren Barfield and John Waller.

As an added bonus, John Waller performed his song from the film and Kirk Cameron (in a role of a lifetime!) and the filmmakers spoke.