The series is billed as “the biggest crowdfunded project in TV history” by Angel Studios, which raises money to fund the series through its platform. It is the first-ever multi-season show about the life of Jesus and showcases that story through the eyes of those who knew him. Jonathan Roumie stars as Jesus in the series, which was created by Dallas Jenkins.
Admittedly, Angel Studios has been a lightning rod for controversy over the last year or so, largely thanks to the release of last year’s surprise hit “Sound of Freedom.” The movie pulled in an astonishing $249 million worldwide, including a whopping $184 million domestically becoming the unexpected hit of the summer last year. But a lot of those tickets were sold through a “Pay it Forward” program that raised eyebrows. Be that as it may, that was revenue that helped a lot of theaters out, and though not as big, this show’s ticket sales were undoubtedly welcome as “The Chosen” accounted for roughly 10% of the total domestic box office this past weekend.
These aren’t even the only examples of faith-based programming breaking out in a meaningful way over the past year. Lionsgate’s “Jesus Revolution” ($54 million) is another prime example, with “His Only Son” ($13 million), which also hails from Angel Studios, also doing significant business. Individuals may, understandably, have mixed feelings about this programming itself, but there is no denying that it can be a big help to theaters at uncertain times. Theaters need something to help bring out moviegoers, and Jesus Christ certainly seems to do the trick.
We spoke about this and the rest of the weekend’s box office numbers on the latest episode of the /Film Daily podcast, which you can listen to below:
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