Biblical Box Office Clash: Gibson’s The Resurrection vs. The Chosen

Easter 2027 at the box office is preparing for a faith film takeover as two screen Messiahs go head to head to compete for the attention, and cash, of moviegoers.

Mel Gibson confirmed this month that his long-delayed follow-up to The Passion Of The Christ has started production in Rome.

Over 20 years after the release of his blockbuster biblical drama, the sequel, titled The Resurrection of the Christ, will be split into two parts, the first will premiere in theaters on Good Friday, March 26, 2027 before part two on Ascension Day, May 6, 2027.

Gibson’s long-awaited movie won’t be the only faith-based theatrical release over Easter 2026 though. 

Amazon MGM Studios and 5&2 Studios have announced that the season six finale of their Christian TV juggernaut The Chosen will receive a cinema release.

Following a similar release structure to Gibson, The Chosen finale depicting the crucifixion of Jesus will get a theatrical release on March 12, 2027 before another feature length episode focusing on the resurrection premieres a year later on March 31, 2028.

Both Gibson’s movies and The Chosen have already reaped the financial benefits of the faith-based market.

Back in 2004 The Passion Of The Christ was a huge box office success, bringing in around $612 million globally on a $30 million budget to become the highest-grossing independent film of all time as well as the highest-grossing Christian film of all time.

Lesser known perhaps is The Chosen. Based on the gospel accounts of Jesus’s life and ministry and starring Jonathan Roumie, the series has been an extrordinary underground success story after Illinois-born filmmaker Dallas Jenkins launched a small pilot in 2017.

Jenkins financed the first season through crowdfunding, raising $11 million from donors, to become the most successful crowd-funded TV series in history.

Its makers have claimed that during the first four seasons of the series, viewer support raised nearly $100m in production expenses. 

The unique business model has also sprouted its own app through which the series is streamed, with 200 million unique viewers across its platforms since launching. Then there’s the spin-offs which include an animated children’s series and an upcoming reality series with the adventurer Bear Grylls.

The show has also made its lead actor Jonathan Roumie a global superstar. He’s visisted the Vatican twice, snapped a selfie with Pope Francis and is a regular speaker at stadium-sized Christian gatherings.

Covid proved to be a huge turning point for the show, with millions of viewers boosting revenue on the app’s subscription based model, leading its creators to make it free to watch. 

By season three, the show had moved to theatrical releases, with special event episodes premiering in cinemas before being released to various streaming platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Facebook and YouTube as well as its own app. 

The show’s previous theatrical releases have pulled in more than $140 million globally, with high hopes for the season six finale depicting the crucifixion of Jesus to send those figures soaring.

Whilst box office numbers have been high in the US, there’s hope for better pick up internationally with the next cinema release. 

Lionsgate have won international distribution rights to the next releases, in a move that proves their faith in faith-based content, as they are also hold the distribution rights for The Resurrection of the Christ.  

As Gibson films in Rome, The Chosen is currently filming in Utah, where a vast replica of ancient Jerusalem has been built. 

The anticipation is high with star, Reza Diako (Apostle Philip) recently teasing that although viewers will of course know the outcome of the show, the journey built over six seasons puts it in a unique position to pull at the emotions of its loyal viewers.

‘If you’re the kind that enjoys intensity, then I suppose you’re very excited for what’s coming. If you can’t handle it, then I’m so sorry, but it’s still going to happen’ Diako said.

‘We know where the story is going. It’s painful. It’s difficult. But what makes it different with The Chosen is that we’ve built a journey with these characters for five, six seasons. So it’s not just a reenactment of an iconic moment. It’s more like losing a family member.’

Jenkins agrees, making a sly dig at Gibson when he told the BBC that he doesn’t need to rely on ‘blood and guts’.

‘I think that season six, which is the week of the crucifixion, is going to be so much more powerful than perhaps many portrayals I’ve seen in the past, because now there are stakes for the audience with the people involved.’

‘I don’t even have to show blood and guts for us to be emotionally impacted by seeing Jesus, his friends, his mother, going through all of that. I’m just hoping we’ll be able to get through it together.’ 

Gibson meanwhile is currently hard at work in Italy, shooting the bulk of his movie at Cinecittà Studios before traveling to the Southern Italian rural locations of Ginosa, Matera, and Altamura.

Plot details have remained under wraps, with Gibson set to both co-write the script and also direct, but this week news of the casting changes hit headlines.

While the original movie, which follows the final twelve hours of Jesus Christ’s life, starred Jim Caviezel, 57, as Christ, and Monica Bellucci, 61, as Mary Magdalene, they’ve had to be recast due to the time gap.

‘It made sense to recast the whole film. They would have had to do all this CGI stuff, all this digital stuff — de-aging and all that — that would have been very costly,’ a source close to the production told Variety.

The Resurrection of the Christ — which takes place three days after Christ’s crucifixion on Good Friday — will star Finnish actor Jaakko Ohtonen, 36, in the role of Christ.

Meanwhile Cuban actress Mariela Garriga, 36, will take on the role of Mary Magdalene.

The choice to recast sparked an outcry from fans, with one writing on X, ‘Recasting Jesus is blasphemous work.’