The Passion of the Christ back in theaters for a week

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the night I saw Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, even though it happened 22 years ago. Despite being a devout Catholic, I found myself entering the theater with some evangelical Christian friends who were filled with anticipatory excitement, with some noting that Passion would be the first R-rated movie they had ever seen.

I had a more solemn take on the evening, having a foreboding feeling that Gibson was not going to shy away from the horrific brutality Jesus endured with his scourging and Crucifixion. Raised with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and seeing statues of our Lord and Savior hanging on the Cross with a gash in his side and His crown of thorns on His head every time I entered a Catholic church, I had a more graphic understanding of Christ’s suffering than my Protestant friends. They bought popcorn and Cokes, thinking it would be just another night at the movies–only to wind up gazing in horror and leaving their refreshments largely untouched.

Seeing the film in a packed movie theater gave it an added power, as it was easy to see and hear other viewers crying in the darkness as Christ’s pain and suffering were put on visceral display and everyone in attendance was made to consider His sacrifice in a way they had not before.

The movie went on to become the highest-grossing R-rated film in history at that point, earning $370 million in the US and over $600 million total worldwide, breaking box office records despite the fact that no major studio would touch it and it wound up being released by a small independent distributor named Newmarket.

Gibson has been wanting to make a two-film sequel called The Resurrection of the Christ ever since, but he once again faced funding problems. All the major studios again shirked off any involvement, leaving the controversial and Oscar-winning filmmaker to use a considerable part of his personal fortune to finance the $100 million production. The first film has finally been completed and will be in theaters via Lionsgate on May 6, 2027.

Lionsgate has re-released the film for one week only into theaters nationwide, running until Thursday, September 17th. This re-released version includes some never-before-seen footage from the sequels. You’ll have to check your local listings, but seeing it now with a 4K visual restoration and state-of-the-art Dolby Atmos sound should be an even more shattering experience for those who have seen it before and a revolutionary revelation to younger audiences who missed it during its first run.

The movie itself was a passion project for Gibson and his star Jim Caviezel, with his leading man dislocating his shoulder and enduring a lightning strike while hanging on the movie’s cross for multiple days of filming. Unfortunately, Caviezel had to be replaced in the sequels as more than two decades have passed while the films, of course, are set in the 40 days between Christ’s Resurrection and his Ascension into Heaven.

Gibson has promised a far more ambitious and visually expansive pair of sequels, as he employs imagery he terms “phantasmagorical” to imagine what Christ experienced when He descended into Hell temporarily after His death and before His Resurrection. The director also told The Christian Post that he has also thrust part of the storyline back to the dawn of Creation by depicting when God cast the demons out of Heaven.

While Passion had an undeniable impact in its first run two decades ago, the potential for it and its sequels to touch countless more lives now in the age of social media and instant global connections may be just as strong, or even greater. As the world has fallen into ever more brokenness amid warfare and religious strife in areas such as the Gaza Strip, perhaps people will have a chance to take notice and be won over by these movies’ unflinching yet undeniably moving portrayal of Jesus’ infinite sacrifice for all mankind. For those viewers who are willing to watch with open minds and hearts, these aren’t just movies but potentially life-changing experiences.