THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST Is an R-Rated DVD Hit
September 4th, 2004 by Andre Soares
With the not inconsiderable help of churches and Christian groups across the United States, Mel Gibson’s controversial biblical film, The Passion of the Christ, sold 4.1 million DVD copies after only one day in stores, an impressive figure though hardly a record-breaking one.
Finding Nemo retains the overall record for one-day DVD sales, with approximately 8 million copies sold, while Spider-Man holds the one-day record for live-action movies, with 7 million. But that hasn’t stopped Fox Home Entertainment from heralding The Passion as both the bestselling R-rated film and the best-selling non-English-language film of all time.
Starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ, The Passion is thus far the second highest-grossing film of 2004 at the U.S./Canada box office. With US$370 million to date, it trails only Schrek 2, which has earned nearly $437 million.
At the time of its theatrical release, The Passion was criticized by many Jewish organizations for its portrayal of Jews as responsible for Jesus’ death. Some feared that the picture might incite a resurgence of anti-Semitism.
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