Christian Retailing

'Amazing Grace' opens at No. 10 Print Email
Sunday, 25 February 2007 07:00 PM America/New_York

Amazing Grace

-a biopic on the life story of William Wilberforce, England's Christian abolitionist leader-debuted at No. 10 over the weekend, the Associated Press reported. According to BoxOfficeMojo.com, the Bristol Bay Productions movie garnered “a decent” opening, with an estimated $4.3 million in 791 theaters.

Amazing Grace, which was recently screened for attendees of the National Religious Broadcasters annual convention and CBA Advance, drew positive newspaper reviews.

The San Francisco Chronicle called the film “a detailed, affecting biography of one of the great souls who moved humanity forward.” The Los Angeles Times observed that the movie is “a story of idealism, idealists and speaking truth to power,” while The New York Times said Wilberforce makes “a first-rate movie saint.”

The movie's release was timed with the 200th anniversary of the end of slavery in Britain, although the U.S. did not abolish the practice for another 60 years.