The faith-based comedy from director Dallas Jenkins is launching with a significant release footprint.
Based on the 1972 book by the same name, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever hits the silver screen tonight across North America, and the studios behind it - Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company - are clearly expecting success: it will roll out in more than 3,000 theaters.
That is a big number for a Christian picture, with most typically opening in closer to 2,000 venues. As a point of reference, the Kendrick Brothers' movie, The Forge, which has made $29 million in domestic ticket revenue, released in just 1,818 theaters this past August and topped out at 1,921, according to Box Office Mojo.
Unlike that movie, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever should have a decent existing audience since the bestselling book it is based on is considered something of a Yuletide classic. It tells the story of a church Christmas play that is taken over by a group of six rascally siblings considered to be nothing but trouble in their small town. They ultimately land leading roles in the production and, as the synopsis puts it, "unwittingly teach a community the true meaning of Christmas."
Dallas Jenkins, the creator and director of the hit streaming series The Chosen, directed this film, one that he had tried to land for a decade and a half, as we reported here. He also cast a few of his charges from that show in the movie: Kirk Woller, Elizabeth Tabish, and Vanessa Benavente. Comedian Pete Holmes and Judy Greer play husband and wife in the lead roles, with the latter also playing the director of the Christmas pageant at the heart of the story.
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