Jesus Christ, superstar: TV hit 'The Chosen' scores on big screen

How bad did "Snow White" flop? Bad enough to get hammered by run-of-the-mill Jason Statham flick "A Working Man" in its second weekend in theaters.

Another title also lapped the Disney dud, except it’s not a movie but part of a long-running TV show.

'This fan base ... they are incredible. They love to gather communally, and they’re all very loyal.'

“The Chosen: Last Supper Part 1” earned a per-screen average of $4,743 last weekend, a thousand-plus more than “Snow White” attracted by the same metric. The show, detailing the life and times of Jesus Christ, has been a sensation from the jump eight years ago.

Early 'Supper'

“Last Supper Part 1,” the beginning of the show’s fifth season, will be available to stream in June on Prime Video and, at a date to be determined, for free via the official “Chosen” app.

Audiences, apparently, couldn’t wait that long.

It shouldn’t be shocking to see “The Chosen” stand tall against Hollywood’s biggest films. “The Chosen” is a consistent moneymaker in theaters courtesy of Fathom Entertainment.

The Colorado-based company first brought the story to the big screen via “Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers.” That 2021 title earned an impressive $13.7 million in select theaters, and a new tradition was born.

The latest theatrical release in the series, “The Chosen: Last Supper Part 1” became the best-selling installment in less than a week with $15 million from U.S. theaters ... and counting. One difference this time? IMAX theaters shared “The Chosen” with fans.

Looking for hope

Ray Nutt, chief executive officer of Fathom Entertainment, says the show’s theatrical success started as the global pandemic started to recede in 2021.

“People were looking for some hope, some faith, and to gather communally,” says Nutt, who previously served as senior vice president of business relations at Regal Entertainment Group.

Fathom Entertainment quickly learned this wasn’t just another faith-based property.

“This fan base ... they are incredible. They love to gather communally, and they’re all very loyal,” Nutt said.

A different approach

Fathom offers an alternative to big studio films and franchises. The company serves up reissues of classic films — think this year’s 50th anniversary rerelease of “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” — to indie fare and faith-friendly films like the upcoming “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality.” That film, detailing the journey of the first Millennial saint, hits theaters April 27.

The company regularly reaches out to faith-based audiences, a group sometimes ignored by traditional Hollywood. The company’s loyalty to faith-friendly titles comes from deep research into that sprawling demographic, Nutt said.

And of course, results.

“We’ve had a lot of luck with Catholic content,” he said, adding that “Mother Teresa: No Greater Love” performed particularly well in 2022. “We’ve drilled down into certain categories where we know there are audiences, and we communicate with them.”

Follow the money

Nutt isn’t surprised to see mainstream Hollywood companies expand their faith-friendly content in recent years. Netflix is currently prepping an update on “The Chronicles of Narnia” by Oscar-nominee Greta Gerwig. Prime Video has found success with the recent “House of David,” already greenlit for a second season.

“Hollywood will follow the money ... we’re very proud we’ve been able to pioneer this space,” he said.

Nutt says Fathom is constantly evaluating its business model to address consumer craving.

One example? This year, Fathom will allow audiences to catch up with recent “Chosen” installments, giving them the chance to “binge” all three season five updates, even if they missed “Last Supper Part 1,” for example.

Part of the Fathom Entertainment model is that films stay in theaters for a limited time. The “Monty Python” rerelease, for example, will be shown on just two nights — May 4 and 7.

The theatrical landscape is undergoing seismic shifts of late. Theatrical windows — the time between a film’s release and its debut on home-streaming platforms — are shrinking. Box office numbers have yet to recover from their pre-pandemic levels. The 2025 box office receipts have been troubling, above and beyond Disney's disappointing "Snow White" tally.

'A very resilient industry'

Nutt remains bullish on the theatrical experience in 2025 and beyond.

“It’s a very resilient industry and somewhat recession proof,” he said, recalling how often observers predicted the theatrical model’s death in the past. Some said the advent of television would strike that mortal blow. Others predicted the dawn of cable television options like HBO would do the same.

Innovation matters on the theatrical level, and we’re seeing that across the industry. Some mainstream theaters are toying with 4DX experiences, where the consumer’s chair moves along with the action on screen, among other enhancements.

For Fathom, it might be as simple as having film historian Leonard Maltin greet audiences with trivia about a beloved film. Nutt compares it to an MLB giveaway, where attendees get a free T-shirt or similar souvenir.

“Our research tells us that’s really working for us,” he said. “If you do something that might be extra, like Fathom does all the time, you’ll get that person no matter what the window is, off the couch and into the movie theater.”

“The Chosen: Last Supper Part 2” (episodes 3-5) debuts April 4, with the third installment (episodes 6-8) arriving April 11. Show fans can choose the “binge-fest” option mid-April.