The $2 million independent Christian film “God’s Not Dead” brought in $302 per screen on Monday, compared to “Noah,” which brought in only $216.
What’s even more incredible is that “God’s Not Dead” should be more played-out due to the fact that it has been in theaters longer than “Noah.” Four weekends/25 days compared to “Noah’s” three weekends/18 days.
Granted, “Noah” is on more screens than “God’s Not Dead, — 3282 vs. 1860, but the $125 million blockbuster spent tens of millions on promotion, enjoyed a ton of free publicity from the media, and earned a 77% “Fresh Rating” from 201 reviews.
“God’s Not Dead” had a mere $2 million promotional budget and was intentionally ignored by critics. Of the 13 critics who did bother to review it, only 2 gave the film a favorable write-up.
“Noah” is now looking like a film that might not break even for Paramount, while “God’s Not Dead” is returning nine times its investment and still seems to have plenty of life left in it.
If you build it, Christians will come. If you try to bait-and-switch us like the anti-God “Noah” did, all that follows after a boffo opening weekend is crushing disappointment.
We’re just hating you back, Hollywood.