Hollywood saw a surprise box office hit last weekend: “The Chosen: Season 4, Episodes 1-3” climbed to second place in the nation’s box office rankings, with nearly $7.5 million in four-day ticket sales.
According to BoxofficePro.com, the first three episodes of the crowdfunded streaming series took in $6,035,823 over the weekend and $1,433,216 from last Thursday’s preview screenings.
The new release, which screened at more than 2,300 theaters, will remain in theaters through Feb. 14. The next three episodes will hit movie screens on Feb. 15 and the final two will arrive in theaters Feb. 29, producers say.
It’s expected the episodes will subsequently stream on The Chosen mobile app and then on various streaming platforms.
The three-hour showing of Season 3’s first episodes trailed “Argylle,” a new spy action comedy film that garnered an estimated $18 million. But “The Chosen” outpaced the action-thriller “The Beekeeper,” which scored $5.3 million in its fourth weekend in theaters.
“The Chosen” is an expanded telling of the story of Jesus and his disciples, and stars actor Jonathan Roumie. It has garnered an estimated 200 million views online and has been translated into 100 languages, with subtitles planned for 500 more.
In June, executive producer Brad Pelo told reporters visiting the series’ set in Midlothian, Texas, the show wants to reach beyond an exclusively religious audience.
“We don’t consider ourselves a ‘Christian’ show,” Mr. Pelo said. “We consider ourselves a historical fiction show, where Jesus is a character in that show, for sure, [but also] sort of centers around people’s experience with him.”
Producer Dallas Jenkins, who co-wrote the show’s scripts and directed the episodes released to theaters over the weekend, told The Washington Times he agreed that the story should reach beyond traditional viewers.
“This show has always been for everybody from the beginning,” Mr. Jenkins said in June. “The story is for everybody. … I’m just trying to tell the story authentically. The audience will respond accordingly.”
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