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.
