Each week, thousands of Christians gather for prayer and discussion at Liberty University’s cavernous Vines Center in Lynchburg, Va.
One Monday morning in January, they listened to husband-and-wife film producing team Mark Burnett and Roma Downey pitch their new movie, “Son of God.”
About 10,000 students and faculty members watched as the pair behind the hit History channel miniseries “The Bible” showed clips from the film and discussed its religious significance.
“Yes, it is a movie, but it is more than a movie,” Burnett told the Los Angeles Times. “This is an evangelizing tool.”
The Jan. 20 visit was part of a months-long campaign that saw Burnett and Downey visit more than 30 religious organizations to promote their film, which is being distributed by 20th Century Fox and premiered on 3,254 screens nationwide last week.
The effort appears to be paying dividends. “Son of God” was the No. 2 movie last weekend, grossing $26.5 million, according to Rentrak.
Across the country, churches and other groups rented out multiplexes where “Son of God” was shown, free of charge, to their parishioners. Other organizations have bought tickets by the thousands and donated them to churches to disseminate to their flocks.
Burnett is the successful producer of the hit television series “Survivor,” “The Apprentice” and “The Voice,” among others. Downey is best known as the co-star of the long-running faith-based TV program “Touched by an Angel.”
It is the first film to be released in what Rentrak box-office analyst Paul Dergarabedian has termed “the year of the Biblical movie.” Paramount Pictures’ “Noah” will open March 28, and 20th Century Fox’s “Exodus” comes out Dec. 12.
If the pictures are successful, Dergarabedian believes, “this could be an untapped marketplace that could provide dividends for years to come.”
Its opening weekend put the film far off the pace of 2004’s “The Passion of the Christ,” which had a domestic debut of $83.4 million and went on to gross $611.9 million worldwide.
But executives at Christian organizations said that the outreach done by Burnett and Downey and the ambitious preselling of tickets exceed efforts made to promote “The Passion” a decade ago.
“Son of God” was born out of the 10-hour “The Bible” miniseries. Burnett said that early on in the filming of the TV program, he and Downey were reviewing dailies and were astounded by the footage.
Once the decision was made, Burnett said, the production was beefed up to include some cinematic shots — including some requiring a helicopter — that would lend themselves to a feature of epic proportions. The film, budgeted at an estimated $22 million, includes footage that was used in “The Bible” as well as other material that was shot while making the miniseries but not previously aired. Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer provided the score.
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