'Passion' stays atop box office

By Karen Blakeman and Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Staff Writers

Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," popular with church groups but controversial because of its violent content, was the top grossing film nationally and in Hawai'i for the second straight weekend.

Despite a more than 50 percent drop in sales in Hawai'i last weekend over the weekend before, "Passion" beat out both "Starsky & Hutch" and Disney's horse-racing film, "Hidalgo."

"It's down nearly 52 percent, but it is still doing great," said Clyde Cornell, Signature Theatres' senior vice president of operations.

Cornell said the drop in "Passion" sales at the Dole Cannery probably reflected a high number of theater rentals by church groups during the first weekend, which slacked off somewhat during the second weekend.

"Many groups wanted to see it, so we got extra prints and gave private showings," he said. "I don't want to say that artificially inflated the numbers, because I think those people would have seen it anyway. But they may have seen it when they did and at our theater because of that."

Passion raked in $25,000 last weekend at Dole, down from $51,700 the weekend before, but still beating out "Hidalgo," which had $20,500 in sales and "Starsky & Hutch" with $11,700.

Nationally, the "Starsky & Hutch" debut came in second with $28.1 million in sales, while "Hidalgo" ranked third with $18.8 million in first-weekend sales.

Eileen Mortenson, a spokeswoman for Consolidated Theatres in Hawai'i, said "Passion" dropped by about 50 percent from one weekend to the next in those theaters as well.

Nationally, the drop was about 36.5 percent.

In its first 12 days, "Passion" garnered $213.9 million nationwide.

Pono Shim, who runs concierge services at Consolidated's Ward Stadium 16, said a church group sold out a showing of "Passion" on Sunday.

He said many of the people who came individually or in smaller groups last weekend were "just the folks who haven't seen it yet, a lot in the Christian community, many bringing people — their friends — to come and see it."

He predicts the next round for brisk ticket sales for the movie is probably going to be Good Friday, "when interested churches are hoping to use the film as their Good Friday remembrance."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.