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SOUL SURFER Scores Big Opening Weekend
LOS ANGELES–April 14, in the year of our Lord 2011–SOUL SURFER, the inspiring true story of teenager Bethany Hamilton who lost an arm in a shark attack and returned through courage and faith to the top levels of competitive surfing, scored big in opening weekend box offices and drew a rare A+ in CinemaScore exit polls.
“Audience support is phenomenal,” Rich Peluso, vice president of AFFIRM Films, said. “Ticket sales exceed expectations and 96 percent of audiences rate it ‘excellent’ or ‘very good.’ That’s a whole lot of families and teens having a great time at the movies.”
Bethany’s church youth leader Sarah Hill, played in the movie by Carrie Underwood, is delighted with the movie’s effect on young people, many of them attending with youth groups: “Bethany’s story is about faith getting her through tragedy and SOUL SURFER brings it to the world: the surprise and pain, the support, the comeback . . . like Bethany and her family, I’m so proud of this film.”
While Christian leaders like Saddleback pastor and author Rick Warren urge people to see SOUL SURFER, Christianity Today movie reviewer Mark Moring salutes the mix of Christian values and production values. “It’s rare to see a Hollywood film score on two critical points: 1) It’s well made and 2) it gets the faith factor,” he said. “SOUL SURFER is good from an artistic perspective, and it gets the faith elements without being preachy or watering it down.”
Plugged-In reviewer Bob Waleszewski also likes the faith factor: “ . . . first and foremost it's a true story about a young teenage girl walking through major trauma and doing so with a calm reliance on her faith and family,” he said. “Because all of us face trials, we need to see how it's done rightly. Bethany models that for us."
SOUL SURFER’S impact shows in several important weekend indicators:
--$10.6 million weekend estimate at the box office, making SOUL SURFER the number
four film in the country and, at $4,788 per screen, second in per-screen average among
new films.
--The film’s A+ rating from the CinemaScore marketing research firm (exit polls) is “rare”
says The Wall Street Journal; the rating suggests a long-term theatrical run.
--By Friday afternoon on its opening day, SOUL SURFER was “trending” on Twitter
globally, meaning it was among the top 10 tweeted items, worldwide, for that period.
“From the beginning, this was God’s film, and we’re delighted with it,” Cheri Hamilton, Bethany’s mother, said on behalf of the Hamilton family. “As the story goes out, we’re trusting God to bless other families through the incredible way he’s taken care of us.”
SOUL SURFER was released through TriStar Pictures under a deal between FilmDistrict and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions. FilmDistrict with Affirm Films oversaw marketing to the faith audience.
To learn more, visit: SOUL SURFER www.SoulSurfertheMovie.com