Christians Return to The Passion of the Christ on Easter

Apr 13, 2004 10:41 AM EDT

The movie, The Passion of the Christ, is rewriting box-office history. Mel Gibson’s movie had been No. 1 for the first weekends since it came out, then fell back but it returned to the top spot of box-office over Easter weekend as many Christians went to see the movie as part of Easter celebration across the nation.

"That's unprecedented. I've never seen that before. The Passion is just rewriting box-office history," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "This is a holy day, and this movie is tailor-made for a weekend like this. It's not just a movie. It's a religious experience for many people."