NEW YORK, March 16, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A USA Today review of The Passion of the Christ affirms that filmmakers “need not feel timid about affirming religious values out of fear of public conflict” considering the overwhelming success of the film. USA Today’s Michael Medved asserts that more filmmakers will be following the Passion’s trend since the movie, which was considered “offensive” by some groups, nevertheless set box-office records. As well, the relatively low $30 million cost to make the film, as compared to, for example, the Titanic’s $200 million budget, makes the movie a more attractive venture to emulate from a financial perspective. Medved quotes Robert Bucksbaum, president of the industry tracking firm ReelSource, who said that moviegoers who attended The Passion of The Christ were typically “turned off by Hollywood, but this was seen as something completely out of the mainstream.” Medved cites surveys which suggest that four times more Americans attend church services every week than go to the movies. “Until now, most producers disregarded this faith-based audience, claiming that they seldom went to the movies anyway so it made no sense to appeal to them. The explosive response to The Passion blows that theory to smithereens: The movie’s projected box office gross is some $400 million in its North American theatrical run alone,” he writes.
Medved predicts that “The Passion will be remembered as an historic turning point, rather than a freakish anomaly or an isolated experiment. The movie has helped Hollywood discover not just a new formula, but also a new audience.” Read the USA Today column at: https://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2004-03-14-medved_x.htm