“Heaven Is For Real”, the newly released faith-based film made a rather astounding box office debut over the Easter weekend. The motion picture grossed over 20 million dollars, more than twice than that of Johnny Depp’s “Transcendence”, a sci-fi blockbuster.
Rory Bruer, the president of worldwide distribution of Sony Pictures Entertainment commented through Dealine.com that “Heaven Is For Real” had a powerful appeal not only to Christian movie goers but also to non-believers. He shared how he thought , "The title itself provokes dialogue no matter what you believe. It's based on a book and the true story of this family, so it makes it all that more compelling."
The plot mainly features a Christian pastor Todd Burpo, and his sin Colton who goes through a near-death experience. Colton shares with his father about his experience in Heaven and his encounter with Jesus Christ and a number of other deceased relatives that lost their lives after an emergency surgery in 2003.
The film was made by Randall Wallace, based on a best-selling book called Heaven Is For Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip To Heaven And Back. It was released in over 2000 theaters all over the Unites States and in just the first five days of its release, it grossed over double than that of its production budget of around 12 million dollars.
“Son of God”, another faith-based movie which features on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ also did very well even through it was released in a limited number of theaters and after receiving harsh reviews from mainstream film critics.
