The Passion of the Christ took in over $50 million this weekend to move past the $200 million mark in just 12 days. What was once thought to be a $30 million risk has turned into a bona fide blockbuster. But the box office is not the only place where money is rolling in.
The State features an article about Passion-related merchandising. Bob Siemon Designs, which created the nail pendant and Passion crucifix, has employees working extra shifts to try to keep up with demand. The Passion companion book with a foreward by Gibson is selling well. Anne Catherine Emmerich’s book The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ has also been selling well, rising to number 68 on Amazon’s best-sellers list on the day the movie opened.
There is no word on whether Bible sales have also risen accordingly.
The article mentions that John Piper’s book The Passion of Jesus Christ: Fifty Reasons Why He Came to Die has sold out the entire first run of 175,000 copies. I quite like Piper and am glad to hear the book is selling well. However, what the article does not mention is the book was being sold for $1 per copy through Piper’s ministry, so I am sure many of the copies have been sold at that price rather than at the $7.99 recommended price.
