Trio of taboo-topic films scores at box office

'Fireproof' star Kirk Cameron

Three movies with heavy political or religious messages finished strong at the box office this weekend, landing in the weekly top 10 highest-grossing films and making a collective $11.4 million in ticket sales.

According to estimates on Yahoo's box office charts website, the films – "Fireproof," "An American Carol" and "Religulous" – finished in the eighth, ninth and 10th spots on the list, respectively.

The three films appeared in a combined 2,993 theaters, or fewer collectively than each of the nation's top two films – "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" and "Eagle Eye."

The highest ranked of the three was "Fireproof," which debuted at No. 4 last weekend, but this weekend slipped to No. 8, appearing in only 852 theaters but still grossing over $4 million. "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" appeared in 3,215 theaters.

As WND reported, "Fireproof" is a faith-based film from the makers of "Facing the Giants" that stars Kirk Cameron as a brave firefighter named Capt. Caleb Holt who rescues strangers for a living. But Holt feels unable to salvage his own relationship with his wife, Catherine, after seven years of marriage.

Pastor Ray Comfort, co-host of "The Way of the Master" TV and radio shows with Cameron, told WND the movie's powerful message to couples – "Never leave your partner behind" – is different from most Hollywood films.

"It honors the institution of marriage, honesty, integrity, etc., in a society that has forgotten the meaning of those words, and it does it in a way that isn't prude," Comfort said. "The storyline shows that these virtues are the ingredients to make marriage work, in the way God intended."

After only two weeks in theaters, "Fireproof" has earned more than $12 million, topping its successful predecessor "Facing the Giants," which made $10 million in its surprise box office run two years ago.

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Coming in at No. 9 was the politically charged "An American Carol," appearing in 1,639 theaters and grossing $3,810,000.

"An American Carol" has been described as a rare, right-wing comedy produced by the director of "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun" that lampoons liberal politics by confronting a character – clearly a spoof on leftist filmmaker Michael Moore – with Dickens-like spirits who try to convince the anti-American character not to squash the Fourth of July.

Rounding out the top 10 was comedian Bill Maher's scathing "mockumentary" on organized religion, "Religulous," which debuted in 502 theaters this weekend and grossed $3.5 million.

All three films topped the debut appearance of the heavily advertised "Blindness," which managed a mere $2 million in gross ticket sales. Top-seller "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" debuted this weekend at $29 million.

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