'Passion' building among exhibitors
Wed Feb 18, 7:00 PM ET
GABRIEL SNYDER
(Variety) No one will have a problem finding a theater playing Mel Gibson (news)'s "The Passion of the Christ" next week.
Responding to increased demand from exhibitors, Icon and Newmarket said Wednesday that they now planned to distribute more than 4,000 prints of "Passion," up from the approximate 2,500 previously announced.
The increase reflects the expanding number of theaters that will play "Passion" and the number of theaters that will show the pic on multiple screens. Icon and Newmarket now say they plan to be in 2,800 theaters, up from an original 2,000.
"It's really picked up in the last couple of days," said Newmarket chief Bob Berney. "A lot of what we've been hearing (from theater chains) is that instead of two prints, we want four. They anticipate a much bigger opening, and they want to be able to handle it."
"Passion" now stands to be distribbed on the same scale as some of Hollywood's biggest titles.
By way of comparison, "Master & Commander" unspooled in November with 3,101 playdates. "The Last Samurai" opened with 2,908. "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," which holds the record for opening at the most theaters, bowed at 3,703.
Berney said "Passion" may still add theaters and prints before the pic officially bows this coming week --- on Ash Wednesday . "I anticipate going up even slightly more because of increased demand, particularly after the great interview with Diane Sawyer."
Gibson appeared on a one-hour ABC News special Monday that attracted 17 million viewers, drawing better ratings than CBS' "60 Minutes" interview with Michael Jackson (news) in December.
"Passion" is produced by Gibson's shingle, Icon, which partnered with Newmarket to handle domestic distrib. Pic was produced for $25 million.
Film is riding a wave of religious controversy and spiritual fervor. Gibson has cultivated a following among evangelical Protestants and conservative Catholics who have embraced "Passion" as truthful accounting of their faith.
"Passion" also has stirred up political debate as some Jewish leaders fear that the account of the crucifixion portrays Jews as culpable and that the film could spur an upsurge in anti-Semitism.
The combination has produced massive interest in a film that --- telling a religious tale with Aramaic and Latin dialogue and extremely gory violence --- once looked like it would be a commercial flop.
A rival distrib exec praised the "Passion" marketing. "They've done a great job of drawing a line. You're either for it and you want to see it or you're against it and you want to see it. They've even advanced the idea that you're a hypocrite if you're against it and you haven't seen it."
Bruce Davey, Icon's chair, said exhibs are responding based on continued strong advance sales of "Passion" tix, estimated to have already reached $8 million for the first few days of the pic's release. With around $2 million already booked in group sales, he said, "If no one walks up to a theater, we're going to do great, but I think we're going to do spectacularly."
Berney said that this coming Monday, two days before "Passion's" official bow, about 800 theaters will begin offering paid shows for churches that have bought out entire auditoriums. These group-sale shows alone could generate around $2 million at the wickets.
"We have never experienced this level of interest in group sales," said Regal Entertainment Group marketing senior VP Dick Westerling. Regal, nation's largest chain, will play "Passion" in about 450 of its 550 theaters. Most of its dates are also doing group-sale shows before this coming Wednesday .
At AMC, Rick King, corporate communications senior VP, concurs with Berney's assessment. "It's continuing to grow. The sales have just been very strong, particularly over the last seven or eight days."
Though those group-sale shows will be added into the Wednesday gross, Davey said they weren't intended to solely be moneymakers.
"They're all churches that are itching to see this film. What better word of mouth can you have from your core audience?" Davey said. "They all want to get out and see the movie first, then go spread the word."
Berney said increased exhib demand was nationwide and not just in the Bible Belt. "It's pretty even across the board. It's a very typical wide studio release," he said, "as opposed to some stories I've seen that said it wasn't. We're not worried about people not getting in."
Several theaters around the country are planning midnight showings on Tuesday night, including the ArcLight in Hollywood.
A Cinemark theater in Plano, Texas, plans to show "Passion" on all of its 20 screens. After a midnight show, it plans to keep the pic playing 24 hours a day. Several other Cinemark locations, including theaters in Long Beach, Calif., Rochester, N.Y., Colorado Springs, Colo., and Valley View, Ohio, are planning to follow suit.
Berney would not hazard a guess at "Passion's" opening weekend take. "I don't want to pin down a number," Berney said. "It could really be through the roof. When you try to peg a specific number, it's really risky because if it's one dollar less, somehow it's a disappointment."
Distrib execs at other companies estimate an opening week take of $20 million to $30 million. Pic is aimed at older adults who sometimes wait to see pics after opening weekend, but rival execs marveled at how Icon and Newmarket had encouraged "Passion's" core audience of churchgoers to rush in next week.
"They've convinced them that they've got to see it and they've got to see it right away. It's not a movie, it's a cause," one said.
"Passion" has shunned standard movie marketing techniques, instead building a core audience by creating a network of churches that are seeking to use the film to attract new members.
Icon and Newmarket, however, have launched their broader advertising campaign. TV spots began running on cable the middle of last week. On Monday, network ads began airing. Time has also been bought on Hispanic nets.
Print campaign launches on Sunday with ads in the New York Times, L.A. Times and other major metropolitan dailies.
"It's an aggressive campaign combined with a pretty much overwhelming grassroots and faith-based marketing campaign," Berney said. "We've tried to smartly combine the two."
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