Though the hip-hop drama Straight Outta Compton topped this weekend’s box office totals with $13million, an unheralded Christian film marched to second place despite a lack of major promotion or star power.
War Room, a film about prayer and a family in a crumbling marriage by brothers Alex and Stephen Kendrick, raked in more than $11million despite only showing at just over 1,100 theaters.
In comparison, the latest Mission Impossible and Owen Wilson thriller No Escape each made more than $8million, but were shown in more than 3,000 locations across the country.
Though War Room starred a trio of relative unknowns, it was able to best major studios such as Paramount and Weinstein Company despite a PG rating and a complete lack of titillating explosions or violence
The Christian movie War Room, pokermawar about a family surviving difficulty in a marriage through prayer, debuted at number two in the box office with $11million.
Above, pokermawar a still from the movie between Miss Clara (left), played by Karen Abercrombie, and Elizabeth, played by Priscilla Shirer
The movie is the latest effort from Stephen (left) and Alex Kendrick (center), who are known well only in evangelical circles. Above, the filmmakers with brother Shannon (right) an IT worker who joined their company
The movie, made with a $3.5million, budget sees an African-American family headed by a hardworking husband Tony, played by TC Stallings, begin to crumble as he is tempted by cheating.
His wife Elizabeth, Priscilla Shirer, ultimately creates a ‘war room’ of prayer that helps the family survive through adversity after meeting a brash older woman named Miss Clara, played by Karen Abercrombie.
‘God totally gets the credit for what’s happening,’ Stephen Kendrick said in a statement of the film’s success.
‘Thousands of people have been praying for this movie.’
Stephen and his brother Alex, who are from Georgia and both ordained ministers, have previously made three films together including 2011’s Courageous, pokermawar 2008’s Fireproof and Facing the Giants in 2006.
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War Room centers around the relationship between a hardworking husband tempted to cheat (right, played by TC Stallings) and his wife.
Above, Stallings is pictured with director Alex Kendrick
Some had expected his latest effort to end up debuting in the $5million range before its success. Above, the crew film a scene in a gymnasium
Some had expected his latest effort to end up debuting in the $5million range.
The $2million budget Courageous debuted with $9million from 1,200 screens and eventually made $34million. Fireproof $6.8million on 900 screens and went on to earn $33million, according to
Courageous and Fireproof had 30 and 40 per cent review on rating site Rotten Tomatoes, with early effort Facing the Giants getting a rotten 13 per cent.
However, none have had the attention that their latest effort has received and came in lower in the ranking among other multiplex offerings, which are currently in a lazy late August slumber.
