Gibson Plans Record Wide Release of 'The Passion of the Christ'

Outside of the major cities, few Americans get a chance to see foreign-language movies. But if you want to see Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," you can rest easy.

The movie, with English subtitles and dialogue in Latin and Aramaic, is scheduled to debut on 2,000 screens on Feb. 25, Ash Wednesday.

That would mark by far the widest opening ever of a subtitled picture, Variety reported Wednesday.

"I knew it would start building and building, but now it's like a tsunami," said Bob Berney, president of the movie's distributor, New Market Films. "We've had a flood of calls. People call and say, 'I want 10,000 tickets.'"

Church groups are already ordering large blocks of tickets, and theater chains have set up toll-free numbers to take advance orders, the New York Times reported today. One cinema in Plano, Texas, is reserving all of its 20 screens for the movie, to be screened starting at 6:30 a.m. on opening day.

Looks as if all the hateful attacks on the movie by would-be censors have backfired.

And if you're wondering about the title, yes, it used to be called "The Passion of Christ" and was originally "The Passion."

Editor's note:
James Hirsen’s "Tales from the Left Coast" - Find out the real story behind Mel Gibson’s "The Passion," and more!

Mel Gibson fights back and talks with NewsMax Magazine – click here for new revelations

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