The faith-based film “War Room,” co-written by brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, topped the box office over Labor Day weekend, grossing nearly $2.5 million more than the nearest competitor during its second weekend in theaters.
“We thought we had a shot at the top five, but didn’t expect to be near the top,” director Alex Kendrick told The Wrap Sept. 2 after War Room finished second its opening weekend. “The response has been incredible! We’ve been overwhelmed with people who were inspired and moved by the film. Already we’ve gotten more social media messages than we could ever read.”
The latest Kendrick Brothers’ film grossed $13.4 million Sept. 4-7, bringing its total gross earnings to nearly $29 million, according to Box Office Mojo. The PG-rated movie showed in 1,526 theaters over Labor Day weekend, an increase of nearly 400 from its opening weekend.
War Room stars noted Bible teachers Priscilla Shirer in a lead role and Beth Moore in the supporting cast. Shirer is cast as a young wife and mother who heeds the advice of an older, wiser woman to establish a room in her home for prayer — a war room — and to pray earnestly for her husband, marriage, child and home.
Despite a “micro-budget” of $3.5 million, War Room has received media coverage from the Associated Press, The Washington Post, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, CBS, Fox News and other media outlets, according to a release from Christian Newswire.
A CNN article called War Room the Kendrick brothers’ “most high-profile project to date.” Their previous films include “Fireproof” (2008) and “Courageous” (2011), each of which made more than $30 million, according to CNN.
Tana Evans, an executive at Sony’s Affirm Films, which helped market War Room, said the movie demonstrates “there is obviously a demand for quality content that resonates with the faith audience.”
— by David Roach | BP