Here’s the latest dispatch from the crossroads of faith and media:<\/p>\n
Unplanned<\/em><\/strong> continued to surprise industry experts, with a strong box office run in its second week for an estimated 8th place finish.<\/strong> The film earned an estimated $3.2 million after expanding to 1,515 screens. The true of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood clinic director-turned-pro-life advocate, beat industry predictions again with a per screen average of $2,111. Audience support continues to be strong, with word of mouth on social media providing support for the film as well as an unusual A+ rating from CinemaScore. Distributor Pure Flix expanded Unplanned’s<\/em><\/strong> footprint this weekend to an additional 500 screens, becoming the studio\u2019s second-highest box office success after God\u2019s Not Dead 2.<\/em>\u00a0It was released nationally on 1,000 screens on March 29.<\/p>\n The movie’s success comes despite a controversial R <\/em>rating from the MPAA (apparently for violence due to a scene scene simulating an abortion). Additionally, a number of television networks refused to air commercials for the film and on its weekend Twitter suspended the film\u2019s page twice only to reverse itself an hour later (in doing so growing the total number of followers from 8,000 to now more than 350,000).<\/p>\n \u201cEvery day I am waking up to messages about how people have been impacted by seeing UNPLANNED<\/em><\/strong>,\u201d reports Abby Johnson. \u201cSome walked in pro-choice and walked out pro-life. Others are finding healing from past abortions. And many are finally seeing for the first time that this is what abortion looks like. I am so encouraged by the success of the film and that people are bringing their friends and family, especially those who are on the fence about abortion. It’s my hope that Unplanned<\/em><\/strong> will be the catalyst to make abortion unthinkable, not only in this nation, but the entire world.\u201d<\/p>\n Here is the a clip from the Last Supper scene from Judas: The Betrayal<\/em>, episode 5 of Jesus: His Life <\/em>airing (followed by another episode) Monday, April 8 at 8:00 PM (ET).\u00a0<\/strong>HISTORY\u2019s eight-episode event Jesus: His Life<\/strong><\/em> explores the story of Jesus Christ through a unique lens: the people in his life who were closest to him. Each of the eight chapters is told from the perspective of different biblical figures, all of whom played a pivotal role in Jesus\u2019 life including Joseph, John the Baptist, Mary Mother of Jesus, Caiaphas, Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, Mary Magdalene and Peter.<\/p>\n