The crowdfunded streaming series "The Chosen" opened its third season in U.S. theaters last weekend, with the first two episodes totaling $8.7 million in box office receipts, good enough for third place overall.
The series, based on the life of Jesus and produced and directed by Dallas Jenkins, trailed only "The Menu" ($9 million) and "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" ($67 million), films that played in a significantly larger number of theaters.
In December of last year, "Christmas with The Chosen: The Messengers" totaled $4.2 million in its opening weekend, according to Box Office Mojo, good enough for fourth place overall in domestic receipts.
"We're seeing that the same audiences who have helped us break streaming records can have similar impact at the box office," Angel Studio CEO Neal Harmon said in a statement to The Washington Examiner.
The success of the third season premiere of "The Chosen" is a sign that people are seeking value-based entertainment. It also might be signaling a revolution in the way entertainment is produced. The Washington Examiner reported $10.2 million was raised from about 16,000 investors to produce the first season of "The Chosen." The second season was fully crowdfunded.