With the advent of Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ, the film industry and theatre outlets have woken up to the untapped massive market for Christian films. The latest Christian foray into the secular movie market is THÉRÈSE, an inspirational story on the life of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, which opened in a modest 32 theaters throughout the U.S. on October 1st.
Just prior to the DVD release of Gibson's blockbuster, 20th Century Fox contacted LifeSiteNews.com to arrange promotion for The Passion and to also explain its new outreach to the Christian market. A representative for the media giant explained that targeted marketing of films to Christian markets following the model of The Passion was underway with the re-release of the Michael Landon Jr. film Love Comes Softly.
At the box office, THÉRÈSE did not disappoint. Despite the arrival of major studio-driven films such as Shark Tale to theaters on the same weekend, THÉRÈSE grossed well over $350,000, ranking #4 in the per location average on opening weekend. In addition, THÉRÈSE was ranked #19 at the box office opening weekend in comparison to 190 other films playing around the country. These statistics place THÉRÈSE in a prominent position in comparison to other studio and star-driven films.
The resurgence of spiritual films arriving in mainstream theaters continues to pique the interest of industry analysts, as they watch a new audience awaken within the film-going community. THÉRÈSE is currently planned for expansion to 900 screens in the coming weeks. Directed by Leonardo Defilippis, THÉRÈSE has the distinction of being the first film ever officially endorsed by the Vatican prior to its theatrical release.
See the official movie website for more information.
(This update courtesy of LifeSiteNews.com.)
