Passion film breaks Rings box office record

MEL GIBSON’S The Passion of the Christ has broken the US five-day box office record held by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Gibson’s controversial religious movie made $125.2m in its first five days, updated figures have confirmed.

That pushed it past the Oscar-winning Rings film’s earlier record of $124.1m.

The Passion of the Christ has attracted heavy media attention and fevered debate over its religious message and historical accuracy.

Some Jewish leaders have attacked the film and Gibson, who co-wrote and directed it, for portraying Jews negatively.

But the controversy has raised the profile of the movie and made it the most successful religious film in history.

As well as breaking the record for the five-day total for a Wednesday release, The Passion is sixth in the all-time list of films’ first weekend takings, according to industry publication Screen Daily.

The Return of the King swept the board at the Oscars last Sunday, winning 11 awards out of its 11 nominations.

Bruce Davey, Gibson’s partner at his Icon film company, remained optimistic, saying: “I think we’ll see strong bookings leading up to Easter.”

Filmgoers also have flocked to cinemas in other countries where the film has been released.

It will be released elsewhere throughout March and April, including Ireland on March 12.

Meanwhile, the film has been credited with a boost in religious books sales.

A book to accompany the film sold out of all 150,000 copies almost instantly, while a book Gibson used for the movie - The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ - has seen sales jump from 3,000 in 2002 to 17,000 this February alone.