THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST Is an R-Rated DVD Hit

Jim Caviezel as Jesus Christ, The Passion of the Christ

With the not inconsiderable assistance from Christian churches and groups across the United States, Mel Gibson's controversial biblical movie 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: 7 million.

But that hasn't stopped Fox Home Entertainment from heralding The Passion of the Christ as both the best-selling 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 North American box office. With $370 million to date, it trails only Shrek 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.