Millions flocked to the proverbial table for the box-office debut of “The Chosen: Last Supper.”
The season-five theatrical release of the series based on the life of Jesus pulled off a surprise performance for its opening weekend, raking in $11.5 million across across 2,478 theaters around the country, according to Box Office Mojo.
Listen to the latest episode of “Quick Start” 👇
After its three-day run, “The Chosen: Last Supper,” the first part of a three-part premiere, earned itself a third-place finish, following behind its new-release competitor, “A Working Man,” an action movie starring Jason Statham, and Disney’s live-action “Snow White,” a holdover from the week before.
“The Chosen” release far outshined fellow faith-based film, “The Last Supper,” with which it shares no connection. The latter movie was distributed by Pinnacle Peak Pictures, a studio founded by David A.R. White of Pure Flix fame, and promoted by worship leader and recording artist Chris Tomlin.
As for “The Chosen,” this past weekend’s theatrical release marks the best premiere for the series, since it began debuting in theaters. “The Chosen: Last Supper” pulled ahead of its previous record-holder, the theatrical release of episodes one and two of season three of “The Chosen” in 2022.
The fifth season of “The Chosen” centers on the events of Holy Week, dramatically depicting the final days of Jesus’ life leading to His crucifixion. It covers significant events like Judas’ betrayal, the Savior’s arrest, and the questions swirling in the minds of Jesus’ followers as His earthly life hangs in the balance.
Series creator and showrunner Dallas Jenkins told CBN News at the premiere of “The Chosen: Last Supper” the central theme of this newest season is whether Jesus’ followers trust Him, even when they don’t understand what exactly that means.
“Can you trust, can you have faith, can you follow, even when you don’t understand?” Jenkins asked. “Even in my personal life, there are times when I don’t understand what’s happening — I don’t understand what’s happening with my kids sometimes when they’re struggling, I don’t understand the future of this show a lot of the time, and this show is coming out of nothing; we’re constantly reinventing the wheel and asking God for favor and for advice.”
“Can I still follow and trust, even when I don’t understand?” he continued. “The disciples where facing that in season five in Holy Week, and now we face it.”
The 49-year-old Jenkins noted he’s seen God use each season to teach him and his wife, Amanda, lessons applicable their own personal lives.
“Every season, my wife Amanda says, ‘We’re not free from the lessons of the actual content itself,'” he said. “Season four was a lot about suffering; well, we went through a lot of that when we were filming season four, and I think it made us better filmmakers, better storytellers, and, hopefully, more Christlike.”
***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***