"Unscheduled" battles against abortion for $ 6.1M; 2nd best opening for Pure Flix, a label based on faith



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After the closing of his TV spots by my most traditional cable networks and his Twitter account frozen for two to three hours yesterday, the anti-abortion function of PureFlix Unexpected, which received an R score from the MPAA, opened for $ 6.1 million in 1,059 theaters, making it the second best opening for titles distributed by the faith-based studio God is not dead 2 ($ 7.6 million).

For the independent label that produced the co-financier Mike Lindell (the inventor of MyPillow), it is certainly a huge victory, but it is a feat, given the controversy that crossed the photo. It can be said that there has been no religious film based on the R rating since Mel Gibson, 2004. The passion of Christ. As a general rule, denominational films play two to three times more than their domestic box office recipes on television and at home. It's Lent, so it would not be a shock if Unexpected legs out. God is not dead, PureFlix released via FreeStyle, multiplied by 6.6 the amount of its opening of $ 9.2 million for a final national take of $ 60.7 million.

Directed and written by Chuck Konzelman and Cary Solomon, Unexpected is based on the true story of Abby Johnson, who was one of the youngest directors of Planned Parenthood in the United States. After being asked for an abortion at thirteen weeks of pregnancy, she resigned and became a pro-life activist.

And like The passion of Christ, the confessional community of evangelical pastors, and even the Roman Catholic community, have endorsed and promoted this photo to his flocks, generating $ 1.5 million in ticket sales in advance UnexpectedOpening of the weekend. The churches literally bought movie theaters and the image earned an A + CinemaScore from their movie buffs. Social media analyst RelishMix noted that Johnson's real life was about to promote the film and was sneaking into social media.

The controversy was the best way to advertise the film, not only with its MPAA rating, but also with the titles on Unexpected having his televised spots rejected by most cable networks like Lifetime, Travel Channel and Food Network, while getting an airtime with the right-wing Fox News – a big supporter of the movie, broadcasting segments – and denominational chains like TBN. The film made headlines last year when senior actress Ashley Bratcher revealed that her mother had scheduled an abortion, that she changed her mind at the last moment, left the abortion clinic and gave birth. Evangelists like Franklin Graham have played a key role in spreading word of mouth, in addition to a letter signed by 29 national pastors endorsing the film. There was news that Christian radio rejected the spots for Unexpected, PureFlix CEO Michael Scott says KLOVE has finally been adopted. Overall, as in most religious movies, basic marketing wins.

With regard to the publication of the photo roughly at the time when the most strict law on abortion is on the office of the Governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, aka "The Heartbeat Bill" Scott said that such a moment was "unpredictable". calling on Hollywood to boycott film and television production in Georgia over the heartbeat bill, Unexpected The actress Ashley Bratcher retorted in Milan on Deadline with her pro-life stance, stressing that her "life had been spared on an abortion table".

Scott told Deadline that as far as Unplaned Twitter's hilt being closed yesterday, "these things happen" when there is content that is political. But this incident, again, generated word of mouth.

"We are very excited about the success of this film," said Michael Scott, CEO of PureFlix, in a statement. "Introducing the story of Abby Johnson to the public and showing it in so many shows how important the subject of abortion is to the public. We hope that both sides of the debate will see Unexpected and start having their own dialogue. This film can be a spark to get more hearts and minds to understand the value of life. "

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