Thursday, November 7, 2024

Box Office: Kanye West’s 35 Minute “Jesus is King” Drew Huge Crowds Friday Night, Followed by a Huge Fall Off

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On the face of it, you’d say Kanye West’s 35 minute movie, “Jesus is King,” had a great weekend. Its three day total from IMAX is $830,000.

Alas, almost all of that came on Friday. “King” earned a whopping $570,000 on that single day. Audiences were jazzed from all the hype of the film and of the album that was supposed to be released, wasn’t, and then was.

But the movie is 35 minutes, and the tickets cost the same as a feature film. When that news broke, the Friday people communicated it to whoever was interested in seeing a gospel choir filmed in a crater-art project.

Saturday and Sunday are guesstimated at $150,000 and $110,000 respectively. So that party is over. “Jesus is King” was playing at 372 screens, but that number should come down significantly, and fast.

Of the money that has been made, it would be interesting to know the actual cost of “King,” and who got paid including singers, musicians, and the owner of the crater.

The Roden Crater, in Arizona, has a big list of multi-millionaire supporters including the Guggenheim Foundation, the DIA Art Foundation, the NEA, and the MacArthur Foundation.

Weekend numbers aren’t in yet for the “Jesus is King” album, but it’s been number 1 on iTunes all weekend.  And no, it’s not true you must be wearing a pair of $400 Yeezy sneakers to see it, but merchandise is what this is all about. Those Jesus is King shirts are the ugliest, cheapest looking things imaginable. $40.

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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