The Passion of the Christ is being re-released in U.S. cinemas to drum up interest for the forthcoming diptych The Resurrection of The Christ. But will that be enough?
A good portion of France has probably waited for this moment since the Inconnus’ sketch: Jesus is coming back, for real.
More than twenty years after the craziness of The Passion of the Christ that set off a tidal wave of reactions in 2004, Mel Gibson has emerged from his cave not for one film but for two. Like the Avengers in Galilee, The Resurrection of The Christ: Part One will arrive in the United States in May 2027, followed by The Resurrection of The Christ: Part Two in May 2028, to mobilize audiences worldwide around Jesus’s new adventures. At least, that’s the plan.
Reality may prove a touch more complicated and chaotic, especially since the two films The Resurrection of The Christ have a budget of $200 million according to Deadline, the kind of financial heft reserved for major blockbuster bets. They’re distributed in the United States by Lionsgate, which this year has been riding the explosive success of the biopic Michael at the box office (nearly $1 billion worldwide), yet the studio also has a not-so-stellar slate behind it (Borderlands, the The Crow remake, Megalopolis, Ballerina, the Intruders trilogy, and more).
Doubtless, there’s strong motive to re-release The Passion of the Christ in theaters now, to re-energize the Jesus-following community and stage the ground for a high-priced comeback for Resurrection.
CHRIST RETURNS TO THE CINEMA
The Passion of the Christ will therefore be back in American theaters in September, as Lionsgate and Fathom Entertainment announced. The film will return for a one-week run, from September 10 to 17, in a 4K remaster and Dolby Atmos presentation, so audiences can clearly see and hear every detail of gore and tears on the big screen. Not surprisingly, there will be an exclusive preview of The Resurrection of The Christ: Part One to rally the faithful and recruit new fans.
The move makes sense: it’s a reminder to the world that back in 2004, The Passion of the Christ was a tornado. With a modest budget of $30 million, the film directed by Mel Gibson and co-written with Benedict Fitzgerald defied odds by grossing over $612 million worldwide. One has to grasp the magnitude: it was the fifth-biggest success of 2004, behind Shrek 2 ($929 million), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban ($795 million), Spider-Man 2 ($786 million), and The Incredibles ($631 million), ahead of The Day After Tomorrow ($552 million), Meet the Fockers ($522 million), and Troy ($497 million), and well ahead of other blockbusters like Ocean’s Twelve, I, Robot, National Treasure, Van Helsing, and The Bourne Supremacy.
The success was all the more extraordinary as The Passion of the Christ carried an R rating, meaning it was off-limits to under-17s unless accompanied by an adult in the United States. In that category, its domestic opening ran comparably to The Matrix Reloaded, and it remained the top U.S. box-office earner with $370 million until Deadpool & Wolverine in 2024. That’s the kind of anomaly that sticks in memory.
Kevin Grayson, president of Lionsgate, didn’t bother concealing the strategy behind bringing The Passion of the Christ back to theaters:
“The Passion of the Christ remains one of the most extraordinary cinematic experiences ever created. For millions of people, it was far more than a film: it became a powerful shared, cultural, and spiritual experience. Re-releasing it in theaters in a stunning new restoration allows longtime fans to rediscover it in a whole new light, while inviting a new generation to experience it for the very first time on the big screen.
This also marks the beginning of the journey toward The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One, one of the most ambitious and eagerly awaited religious films ever to hit screen.”
For reference, Jaakko Ohtonen will reprise the role of Jesus in The Resurrection of the Christ, touted by Gibson as “a true acid trip.” And yes, we’re expected to get battles between angels and demons, a literal descent into hell, and explorations of parallel dimensions, as the diptych chronicles the events of the three days between the crucifixion and the resurrection, when Jesus descended into Abraham’s bosom to preach and raise the saints of the Old Testament.
No France release dates yet for Jesus’s return, slated for May 2027 in the United States and May 2028 for the sequel.
