The musical gets an early jump on the competition as the first Christmas movie to release this Yuletide season.
Journey to Bethlehem claimed seventh position at the weekend box office, according to The Numbers website. The Nativity Story production brought in an estimated $2.4 million from Thursday through Sunday, a decent though not outstanding figure.
We at Christian Film Blog cannot help but wonder if that is not because the decision makers at Affirm Films - the studio behind this film - jumped the gun a bit with a release so far out from Thanksgiving Day, the traditional start of the Christmas season. For the sake of comparison, another recent faith-based movie - The Blind - generated more than twice as much ticket revenue on its opening weekend a couple months ago, and it did so while playing in fewer theaters, so Affirm Films' brass cannot be thrilled with the box office numbers for their picture.
Timing of the release aside, Journey to Bethlehem seems to have a lot going for it. The musical, which follows the Biblical narrative of the birth of Christ, stars Antonio Banderas, Joel Smallbone and Lecrae: the latter two of whom are both prominent artists from the world of Christian music. And director/co-writer/composer Adam Anders is among the best in the musicals genre, having worked on hits like Glee and Rock of Ages. It also earned an A-minus rating from CinemaScore in that outfit's surveys of opening-night audiences, meaning those who turned up enjoyed the movie.
Amazing approach to the Birth of JESUS, congratulations, where can I buy it?.