AP) - The second coming of Mel Gibson's biblical epic "The Passion of the Christ" sold 4.1 million DVD copies by Wednesday after only one day in stores. While the figure from distributor Fox Home Entertainment is high, it's not quite a record breaker. "Finding Nemo" holds the No. 1 overall spot for one-day DVD sales with about 8 million. For a live-action movie, "Spider-Man" holds the one-day record with 7 million. Although "The Passion" fell short of that, Fox Home Entertainment said it did inaugurate several secondary industry records.

In terms of one-day sales, Fox is describing the movie as the best-selling R-rated film of all time and best-selling non-English language film of all time. Most DVD sales trackers, however, only divide rankings between animation and live-action.

"The Passion," starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus, earned more than $370 million at the North American box office, making it the year's second-most popular movie behind "Shrek 2," which earned $436.7 million.


Gibson's film was also one of the most controversial movies in years. Besides its violent depiction of the crucifixion, some Jewish organizations complained it might spark a rise in anti-Semitism by blaming ancient Jewish people for killing Christ.


"The Passion" DVD is on track to sell as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as "Spider-Man" and "The Lord of the Rings" movies, which topped out between 15 million and 18 million total disc sales, said Scott Hettrick, editor in chief of DVD Exclusive magazine.


Churches and religious groups were active in trying to promote the movie to their congregations, sometimes buying huge blocks of theater tickets for sale to parishioners. Many DVDs were paid for well in advance and picked up Tuesday.


Filmed in Aramaic and Latin, the movie was sold with English subtitles on VHS for $24.98, and English and Spanish subtitles on DVD for $29.98. Many retailers are cutting the price to $15 to $20, Hettrick said.


Since the "Passion" that went on sale Tuesday includes only the movie — no bonus features or documentaries that are common on most discs — a more fully loaded version of the DVD is likely in the future.

Article

what a rip off

i only buy DVDs that have a lot of extras on, unless i really want the film of course then i'll buy it none the less, i mean the older films i like tend to not have many extras on them, but are classics...

Lol! Why get a DVD about the crucifiction of jesus when I could just watch a little orange clownfish look for anothe even smaller clownfish. I mean C`mon, they just dont compare! LoL!

I wont be buying that DVD! I have better things to spend my money on!

Why waste any money on this hatred-filled piece of crap?

I've seen the movie - and it's so anti-Semitic I don't know even where to start ....

wait wha!?!?!? ur right talon what a flippin rip off!!! jeeze that awful. hes gettin richer off an anti-Semitic, burtal movie....its like blood money! i cant believe he can sleep at night.

it's supposedly a 2 hour kill fest.....pathetic how people buy into that...

Anti-Semitic? Where? I am a Christian, and I've seen it, and I didn't see anything that could promote hate against Jews. Honestly.

Well I know my Mom went out and bought it the first day. And we still have not watched it yet!

Passion 'beats Rings DVD record'

Biblical epic The Passion of the Christ has broken the record for sales of a live action movie on DVD and VHS in one week in the US, according to a report.
It sold almost nine million copies in its first week on release, beating The Lord of the Rings titles, according to the Hollywood Reporter trade paper.

Film studio 20th Century Fox launched a massive marketing campaign for the DVD among US religious communities.

Animated films top the sales - Finding Nemo sold eight million in one day.

More than six million Christian homes received e-mails about the DVD release of the controversial religious epic, and churches were also offered deals on bulk orders of the film.

Focusing on the last 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life, the DVD contains no extras or commentary by director Mel Gibson.


Of the nine million DVD and VHS sales, more than four million were bought on its first day on release.

The Passion of the Christ, starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus, was also one of the year's biggest cinema hits, taking more than $600m (£335m) at the global box office.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/film/3640184.stm




.....

Its not like your gonna watch it over and over again,it was pretty crap anyway.
The best bit was where he put that dudes ear back on...cool...

And the terminator 2 music at the end,........ "I'll be back",,,,,,we're still waiting!