“Meet the Mormons,” the documentary produced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, had a terrific Monday at the box office after an expected slow Sunday.
It brought in $681,363 from 317 theaters on Monday, for a per-screen average of $2,191. That was better than any film in release, and nearly double the average of “Gone Girl,” which topped the day with $3.8 million from 3,284 theaters. “Meet the Mormons” also cracked the list of top ten films nationally for the day, beating out the sexy thriller “Addicted” for the No. 9 spot.
“Meet the Mormons,” directed by Blair Treu, just missed the top ten over the weekend when it opened with an eye-popping $2.5 million. It brought in $1.2 million on Friday and Saturday, then dropped to $64,810 on Sunday.
Also read: Church-Backed ‘Meet the Mormons’ Rocks at Box Office
The slow Sunday and the big Monday aren’t a surprise. LDS church members — who were targeted via a grassroots and social media campaign — typically abstain from moviegoing on Sundays, and often reserve Monday evenings for family outings.
The feature-length documentary portrays the personal stories of six diverse LDS members from around the world and is being distributed by Purdie Distribution. Former “American Idol” star David Archuleta, a devout Mormon, sang the track “Glorious” for the film.
The church is donating all net proceeds from the film’s theatrical release to the American Red Cross.