According to The Wall Street Journal, Icon "screened the film for many church groups in a bid to build word-of-mouth buzz."

But Icon says Regal Entertainment Group, the movie theater company that provided the screenings, charged a $500 "worship fee" to hundreds of the church groups.

Regal says the fee was usual and customary, that it was charged as a way to recoup overhead expenses involved in providing the screenings.

Still, Icon says, the company "was shocked and disappointed that this additional fee (which was never reported to us) was being charged to faith-based organizations," according to a letter sent to hundreds of church groups and reviewed by the Journal.

Icon filed suit against Regal, the nation's No. 1 movie theater chain, last June, alleging the company did not pay the appropriate amount of box office revenue. Gibson's movie, the third-largest-grossing film in the U.S. in 2004, raked in more than $600 million worldwide.

Regal has settled with Icon for an undisclosed amount, though the theater company "said last week the settlement would result in an $8.3 million reduction in previously reported fourth-quarter net income," the Journal reported, adding it more than likely "paid considerably more than that."

Gibson's Icon says it discovered the pre-screening charge during the lawsuit proceedings. In that suit, Icon "said it had suffered damages in excess of $40 million," the Journal reported.

"The Passion" is set to return to the big screen over Easter in a shorter, less violent form, say Icon officials. Gibson, a devout Catholic, wanted the film's re-release to coincide with the Bible's account of Jesus' resurrection following his crucifixion.

Editor's note: