I am a film major and a returned missionary. I know a lot about film, church film and propaganda. Everyone's mission is different depending on age, testimony, sex and place of service. I served in San Diego, and "God's Army" is such an accurate depiction of my missionary life it could have been a documentary. Every event in the film parallels one of my own experiences. The "misfit cast" could have been any one of my districts, and they were all good missionaries -- just human missionaries. I was not offended once.
Worried about cheapening your missionary experience? The mistakes elders make do that -- this film doesn't. "God's Army" shows the irony of young men trying to understand the world and themselves while teaching truth (the gospel and church are depicted as truth). It bothers some members to let on that we are real people with struggles and feelings, but the time for that revelation has come. Seeing this movie will force people to think before slamming the door in our faces because they cannot see our humanity.
Worried about mixing sacred things with the world? That's what missionary work is, being in the world but not of it. That's what the film depicted. Also,the "offensive alternative music" Dutcher scored the film with is by Greg Simpson, an LDS artist who I listened to in the mission field.
Worried about casting pearls before swine? Our 50,000+ missionaries do that everyday -- the principle is that not all seeds fall on stony ground. This film can plant seeds on an unprecedented scale. It can enter nations and hearts that the elders can't. Worried about feeling uncomfortable? The priesthood blessing in Legacy didn't seem to bother anyone. Do you remember when Joseph Smith is introduced to Eliza and asks, "Do you have faith to be healed? Do you believe in Jesus Christ?" Neither of those actors were members of the church. You want to talk about offensive? The priesthood blessing scene in "God's Army" didn't even make me uncomfortable compared to that.
People don't realize what a step the film is. Our prophet is constantly telling the LDS artists to stop floundering in mediocrity. Richard Dutcher wrote, produced, directed and starred in a film that will possibly never see an ounce of commercial success. That means that he personally raised tens of thousands of dollars and devoted his life and soul to the project for years. You want to talk about consecration? Now that he's done it, some still want to ostracize him.
"God's Army" is easily the most effective media tool for spreading the gospel that has ever existed. Richard Dutcher is going to be blessed no matter how the rest of the LDS community reacts. The only thing that remains to be seen is whether we'll use it to its potential, or put the bushel back on our candle. The film is a veritable weapon for missionaries, sugar-coated for public consumption. I go to church every week, and I have seldom felt the spirit stronger than sitting in that theater since I was released as a full time elder two years ago.
In "Goodbye Lover," a film-noir thriller with too many plot twists for its own good, Patricia Arquette plays a femme fatale whose double-dealings end in multiple murder, and Ellen DeGeneres is the foul-mouthed, hard-bitten police detective on the case.
The film, which played in theaters a year ago, is typical half-baked Hollywood trash, but notable as part of an unusually large string of movies and TV shows over an approximate two-year period that featured Mormon characters or made comments about Mormons . . . generally in less-than-flattering terms.
In "Goodbye Lover," DeGeneres constantly belittles her doofus partner, a Salt Lake Mormon (Ray McKinnon), whom she alternately refers to as "Brigham Young," "John Paul," "Barney Fife," "Mr. Rogers" and several names that can't be printed in a family newspaper.
In addition, there are hypocritical Mormons in "SLC Punk" and the straight-to-video "Heaven or Vegas," two made-in-Utah pictures; Mormonism and its missionary program are slammed in "Orgazmo"; Robert Downey Jr. and Heather Graham make polygamy jokes in "Two Girls and a Guy." And Mormons are the subject of simple-minded gags in "Rage," a straight-to-video thriller with Gary Busey; the Disney Channel's "Brink!"; and the off-the-wall "Godfather" spoof, "Mafia!"
Meanwhile, TV sitcoms "The Simpsons" and "The Hughleys" made Mormon jokes, while "Frasier" featured a goody-goody LDS character who just wasn't ruthless enough to be a good show-biz agent. And "Walker, Texas Ranger" had a flashback episode with Chuck Norris rescuing a Mormon wagon train from bad guys.
And that's just circa 1998-99!
Using Mormons as fodder for cinematic ridicule actually goes back to the silent era, of course. But what we've never seen in the movies is Mormons shown as real, everyday, down-to-earth people.
Until now.
"God's Army," which opened today, is an attempt to give a human dimension to members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It's a fictional drama (with liberal amounts of comedy) about the Mormon missionary program at work in Los Angeles.
Filmmaker/co-star Richard Dutcher says he intended to make a Mormon movie that could be embraced as universally as such Jewish-oriented cinema as "Fiddler on the Roof" (his example). But that seems unlikely. "God's Army" is very inside, and people who are not members of the LDS Church, or who are unfamiliar with Mormon culture, are not likely to understand a lot of it.
From the get-go, setting the entire movie within the two-year missionary program, with its emphasis on young men and women devoting two years of their lives to proselyting, is atypical of the lifestyle of day-to-day LDS Church membership at large. In fact, it would be easy to conclude from this film that new members are baptized only in natural waters (in this case, the Pacific Ocean) and that they never have to go to church.
On the other hand, "God's Army" would seem a natural to be embraced by the LDS audience . . . which, these days, is no small potatoes. The church members depicted here are human, warm, bright and funny. And though a number of big issues are raised, such as blacks being denied the LDS priesthood for many years, they are handled thoughtfully and tastefully.
And though there are a few too many soap-opera endings to be tied up in the final moments, the film is well-paced, the characters are rich and Dutcher lets his sense of humor shine through.
Technically, the film is also quite solid, but perhaps most surprisingly for an effort this small, even the acting is first-rate.
Is "God's Army" going to change Hollywood's stereotypical image of Mormons?
Of course not. (Take Rodney Dangerfield's upcoming "My Five Wives" . . . please.)
Should LDS people see the film and make it a success, so that more will follow?
Absolutely.
"God's Army," the Mormon missionary movie, wowed 'em in Utah theaters in its opening weekend -- with only the super-hyped "Mission to Mars" earning more per screen.
"God's Army" earned $88,584 in its first three days of release in 12 theaters in Salt Lake, Utah and Davis counties, for a per-screen average of $7,382. That is just below the $7,484 that "Mission to Mars" made per screen -- which, on 3,054 screens nationwide, brought its total to $22,855,247. The only other films to score higher per-screen averages are IMAX-filmed movies in specialty theaters.
Add Monday's take, and the four-day box-office for "God's Army" is $117,860 -- or $9,821 per screen -- eclipsing "Mission to Mars," according to Richard Dutcher, writer, producer, director and one of the stars of "God's Army."
"It feels great that the audience we made the movie for is embracing it," Dutcher said.
The box-office success is accelerating the movie's release schedule, Dutcher said. The movie will expand to 18 Utah screens this Friday, including Cedar City, St. George, Layton, Ogden and Logan. And plans to release the movie in Los Angeles and Las Vegas in April are moving faster, too.
"We're getting some attention from L.A.," Dutcher said, noting that several studios called him after seeing "God's Army" ranked 44th in the box-office charts in The Hollywood Reporter.
Dutcher said word-of-mouth among Mormons could ensure the film's success outside Utah.
"People are walking out of the theater right now and saying, 'I've got to get my non-Mormon friends and family to see this,' '' Dutcher said. "The niche community is going to reach out and pull in the audience outside the niche.''
Dutcher is less concerned about a crossover audience. "This is a movie for the Mormon community,'' he said. "Even if only the LDS community supports it, it's legitimate and successful, and it will let us make more movies.''
But Dutcher's missionaries face a formidable opponent in next week's box-office race: Julia Roberts, starring in the much-anticipated "Erin Brockovich.'' Dutcher claimed he is not worried by a face-to-face match-up with America's movie sweetheart. "We'll kick her butt,'' he joked.
"God's Army" is a drama about a fresh-off-the-bus Kansas boy (Matthew Brown) experiencing life in the Los Angeles LDS mission, tutored by a hard-nosed companion, played by Dutcher.
| film title (studio) | per-screen average | number of screens this weekend | days in release. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fantasia 2000 (Buena Vista) | $28,760 | 54 | 79 |
| Galapagos (Imax) | 16,872 | 5 | 145 |
| Island of the Sharks (Imax) | 12,704 | 6 | 332 |
| Erin Brockovich (Universal) | 9,880 | 2,848 | 3 |
| Mysteries of Egypt (Destination) | 9,168 | 19 | 593 |
| God's Army (Zion) | 6,425 | 18 | 10 |
| Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (Artisan) | 6,162 | 71 | 17 |
| T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (Imax) | 5,999 | 8 | 514 |
| Final Destination (New Line) | 3,872 | 2,587 | 3 |
(Fantasia 2000, Galapagos, Island of the Sharks, Mysteries of Egypt, and T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous are all specialty-theatre films, in large IMAX format, not regular feature films.)
| rank | rank last weekend | film title (studio) | weekend gross | percentage change (vs. week-ago) | per-screen average | number of screens this weekend | number of screens last weekend | cumulative gross | days in release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -- | Erin Brockovich (Universal) | $28,138,465 | -- | $9,880 | 2,848 | -- | $28,138,465 | 3 |
| 38 | 44 | God's Army (Zion) | 115,642 | +31% | 6,425 | 18 | 12 | 274,942 | 10 |
| 3 | -- | Final Destination (New Line) | 10,015,822 | -- | 3,872 | 2,587 | -- | 10,015,822 | 3 |
| 2 | 1 | Mission to Mars (Buena Vista) | 11,385,709 | -50% | 3,721 | 3,060 | 3,054 | 40,612,440 | 10 |
| 19 | -- | Beyond the Mat (Lions Gate) | 966,016 | -- | 3,242 | 298 | -- | 1,003,143 | 10 |
| 5 | 2 | The Ninth Gate (Artisan) | 3,531,618 | -47% | 2,131 | 1,657 | 1,586 | 12,534,261 | 10 |
| rank | rank last weekend | film title (studio) | weekend gross | percentage change (vs. week-ago) | per-screen average | number of screens this weekend | number of screens last weekend | cumulative gross | days in release. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | -- | Erin Brockovich (Universal) | $28,138,465 | -- | $9,880 | 2,848 | -- | $28,138,465 | 3 |
| 2 | 1 | Mission to Mars (Buena Vista) | 11,385,709 | -50% | 3,721 | 3,060 | 3,054 | 40,612,440 | 10 |
| 3 | -- | Final Destination (New Line) | 10,015,822 | -- | 3,872 | 2,587 | -- | 10,015,822 | 3 |
| 4 | 3 | My Dog Skip (Warner Bros.) | 5,268,241 | -13% | 2,260 | 2,331 | 2,331 | 21,575,816 | 68 |
| 5 | 2 | The Ninth Gate (Artisan) | 3,531,618 | -47% | 2,131 | 1,657 | 1,586 | 12,534,261 | 10 |
| 6 | 4 | The Whole Nine Yards (Warner Bros.) | 3,274,453 | -41% | 1,308 | 2,503 | 2,672 | 51,071,108 | 31 |
| 7 | 5 | American Beauty (DreamWorks) | 3,159,322 | -14% | 1,902 | 1,661 | 1,522 | 103,007,991 | 187 |
| 8 | 6 | The Cider House Rules (Miramax) | 2,477,000 | -29% | 1,425 | 1,738 | 1,704 | 45,778,857 | 101 |
| 9 | 9 | Snow Day (Paramount) | 2,205,015 | -31% | 924 | 2,387 | 2,672 | 56,398,194 | 38 |
| 10 | 13 | The Tigger Movie (Buena Vista) | 1,771,853 | -28% | 1,042 | 1,701 | 2,093 | 41,597,384 | 38 |
| 11 | 7 | Drowning Mona (Destination Films) | 1,727,680 | -49% | 1,014 | 1,704 | 1,981 | 13,579,577 | 17 |
| 12 | 8 | The Next Best Thing (Paramount) | 1,652,564 | -51% | 812 | 2,035 | 2,034 | 13,376,438 | 17 |
| 13 | 18 | Fantasia 2000 (Buena Vista) | 1,553,037 | +6% | 28,760 | 54 | 54 | 33,690,679 | 79 |
| 14 | 10 | Pitch Black (USA Films) | 1,446,415 | -51% | 1,045 | 1,384 | 1,730 | 36,480,488 | 31 |
| 15 | 11 | Reindeer Games (Miramax) | 1,302,967 | -54% | 766 | 1,701 | 2,113 | 21,802,812 | 24 |
| 16 | 20 | The Sixth Sense (Buena Vista) | 1,280,780 | +32% | 1,459 | 878 | 672 | 288,477,004 | 227 |
| 17 | 12 | Wonder Boys (Paramount) | 1,186,526 | -55% | 814 | 1,458 | 1,509 | 16,930,982 | 26 |
| 18 | 14 | 3 Strikes (MGM) | 989,630 | -47% | 1,460 | 678 | 678 | 8,748,772 | 19 |
| 19 | -- | Beyond the Mat (Lions Gate) | 966,016 | -- | 3,242 | 298 | -- | 1,003,143 | 10 |
| 20 | 16 | Scream 3 (Miramax) | 894,540 | -42% | 680 | 1,316 | 1,447 | 85,925,084 | 45 |
| 21 | 22 | The Green Mile (Warner Bros) | 601,411 | -9% | 778 | 773 | 848 | 134,402,419 | 101 |
| 22 | 15 | Hanging Up (Sony) | 573,519 | -66% | 547 | 1,048 | 1,977 | 35,375,222 | 31 |
| 23 | 25 | Boys Don't Cry (Fox Searchlight) | 512,618 | +11% | 1,972 | 260 | 186 | 6,817,529 | 164 |
| 24 | 24 | Stuart Little (Sony) | 505,198 | -2% | 691 | 731 | 814 | 138,272,975 | 94 |
| 25 | 19 | Boiler Room (New Line) | 444,816 | -54% | 1,171 | 380 | 607 | 16,105,879 | 31 |
| 26 | 39 | Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (Artisan) | 437,504 | +273% | 6,162 | 71 | 19 | 855,860 | 17 |
| 27 | 23 | Sleepy Hollow (Paramount) | 400,168 | -29% | 688 | 582 | 649 | 99,859,790 | 122 |
| 28 | 21 | The Beach (20th Century Fox) | 332,298 | -51% | 700 | 475 | 713 | 38,828,571 | 38 |
| 29 | 28 | Toy Story 2 (Buena Vista) | 308,602 | +12% | 902 | 342 | 352 | 241,878,319 | 122 |
| 30 | 17 | What Planet Are You From (Sony) | 238,271 | -84% | 364 | 655 | 2,248 | 6,182,589 | 17 |
| 31 | 26 | Next Friday (New Line) | 230,922 | -32% | 837 | 276 | 388 | 55,875,721 | 68 |
| 32 | 27 | The Hurricane (Universal) | 200,030 | -39% | 595 | 336 | 406 | 49,783,016 | 82 |
| 33 | 31 | Mysteries of Egypt (Destination) | 174,190 | -12% | 9,168 | 19 | 19 | 30,674,095 | 593 |
| 34 | 63 | Double Jeopardy (Paramount) | 168,240 | +397% | 2,714 | 62 | 102 | 116,735,231 | 178 |
| 35 | 32 | Topsy-Turvy (USA Films) | 134,710 | -30% | 1,236 | 109 | 111 | 5,430,985 | 96 |
| 36 | 29 | Sweet and Lowdown (Sony Classics) | 126,123 | -48% | 814 | 155 | 239 | 3,821,160 | 108 |
| 37 | 30 | Galaxy Quest (DreamWorks) | 120,354 | -45% | 704 | 171 | 381 | 70,130,408 | 86 |
| 38 | 44 | God's Army (Zion) | 115,642 | +31% | 6,425 | 18 | 12 | 274,942 | 10 |
| 39 | 36 | All About My Mother (Sony Classics) | 113,034 | -19% | 1,687 | 67 | 70 | 6,617,507 | 136 |
| 40 | 33 | Trois (Rainforest) | 107,446 | -42% | 2,149 | 50 | 53 | 887,446 | 39 |
| 41 | 37 | The Insider (Buena Vista) | 107,214 | -15% | 1,292 | 83 | 95 | 28,316,207 | 136 |
| 42 | 35 | Angela's Ashes (Paramount) | 103,430 | -28% | 306 | 338 | 538 | 12,714,711 | 86 |
| 43 | 34 | Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (Buena Vista) | 101,707 | -34% | 506 | 201 | 278 | 65,247,917 | 101 |
| 44 | 41 | Rear Window (reissue) (USA Films) | 89,405 | -16% | 2,416 | 37 | 27 | 1,323,029 | 59 |
| 45 | 50 | Galapagos (Imax) | 84,358 | +9% | 16,872 | 5 | 5 | 2,057,054 | 145 |
| 46 | 45 | Magnolia (New Line) | 78,592 | -11% | 1,483 | 53 | 56 | 22,039,264 | 94 |
| 47 | 38 | The Talented Mr. Ripley (Paramount) | 78,471 | -34% | 253 | 310 | 313 | 80,541,060 | 86 |
| 48 | 49 | Island of the Sharks (Imax) | 76,223 | -4% | 12,704 | 6 | 6 | 6,522,121 | 332 |
| 49 | 40 | Any Given Sunday (Warner Bros) | 72,687 | -36% | 307 | 237 | 368 | 75,463,929 | 89 |
| 50 | 42 | The Cup (Fine Line) | 70,768 | -26% | 1,815 | 39 | 42 | 801,165 | 52 |
| 51 | 47 | Being John Malkovich (USA Films) | 65,225 | -21% | 893 | 73 | 70 | 22,373,277 | 143 |
| 52 | 52 | The Straight Story (Buena Vista) | 63,566 | -7% | 1,177 | 54 | 47 | 5,952,858 | 157 |
| 53 | 43 | Holy Smoke (Miramax) | 61,782 | -35% | 1,211 | 51 | 52 | 1,628,057 | 108 |
| 54 | 48 | The World Is Not Enough (MGM) | 55,283 | -31% | 384 | 144 | 191 | 126,815,859 | 122 |
| 55 | 57 | T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (Imax) | 47,994 | +8% | 5,999 | 8 | 8 | 28,014,354 | 514 |
| 56 | 59 | The Third Miracle (Sony Classics) | 45,909 | +16% | 1,530 | 30 | 23 | 591,142 | 82 |
| 57 | 66 | Mifune (Sony Classics) | 44,137 | +39% | 3,678 | 12 | 6 | 183,383 | 24 |
| 58 | 53 | The Emperor and the Assassin (Sony Classics) | 43,499 | -24% | 1,279 | 34 | 32 | 1,008,159 | 94 |
| 59 | 61 | Everest (MacGillivray Freeman) | 41,052 | +19% | 2,737 | 15 | 19 | 75,359,885 | 748 |
| 60 | 62 | Not One Less (Sony Classics) | 40,188 | +16% | 2,364 | 17 | 11 | 237,145 | 31 |
"God's Army" didn't kick Julia Roberts' butt, as producer-director-writer-star Richard Dutcher promised, but the Mormon-missionary movie did fare respectably in its second week of release on Utah screens.
Dutcher's film -- about a young missionary learning about faith and life in Los Angeles -- earned $115,642 on 18 screens from Logan to St. George this weekend, for an average of $6,424 per screen. It ranked 38th in the nation, up from 44th the previous week.
By comparison, the weekend's box-office champ, Roberts' "Erin Brockovich," had a per-screen average of $9,905 -- which, on 2,847 screens nationwide, came to a weekend total of $28.2 million. Aside from "Brockovich" and a few limited-release films -- like Jim Jarmusch's "Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai" and the Australian film "Soft Fruit" -- "God's Army" is outperforming, per-screen, most of the current big-budget Hollywood releases.
For 10 days of release, "God's Army" has made $274,942 -- a respectable haul for a movie that has, so far, not been seen by audiences outside Utah. Openings are planned next month in Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and California. On Tuesday, Excel Entertainment Group -- a Salt Lake company best known for releasing and distributing inspirational and religious music (including the "God's Army" sound track CD) -- announced it would take over national distribution of the film.
["God's Army" continues to play to large audiences over 3 weeks after its release. Among feature films (excluding specialty IMAX films in limited release), in its third week, "God's Army" showed per-screen box office averages higher than all other films, except "Erin Brokovich" and the just-opened "High Fidelity", "The Skulls", and "The Road to El Dorado". Overall, including the IMAX films, "God's Army" was ranked 11th in per-screen box office average out of the North America's top 60 films.
Overall, "God's Army" was ranked 41st out of all North American films in terms of weekend box office reciepts. It's cumulative gross stood at $690,282, and it was readily apparent that it would be a financial success, as the budget to produce it was only around $1 million.]
| film title (studio) | per-screen average | number of screens this weekend | cumulative gross | days in release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Fidelity (Buena Vista) | 5,435 | 1,183 | 6,429,107 | 3 |
| Erin Brockovich (Universal) | 4,745 | 2,908 | 75,811,060 | 17 |
| The Skulls (Universal) | 4,575 | 2,412 | 11,034,885 | 3 |
| The Road to El Dorado (DreamWorks) | 3,992 | 3,218 | 12,846,652 | 3 |
| God's Army (Zion) | 3,921 | 27 | 690,282 | 24 |
| Romeo Must Die (Warner Bros.) | 3,551 | 2,641 | 38,844,556 | 12 |
| Kadosh (Kino) | 3,016 | 14 | 296,680 | 47 |
| American Beauty (DreamWorks) | 2,717 | 1,990 | 116,658,175 | 201 |
| Boys Don't Cry (Fox Searchlight) | 2,697 | 365 | 9,326,087 | 178 |
| Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (Artisan) | 2,418 | 106 | 1,804,635 | 31 |
| film title (studio) | percentage change (vs. week-ago) | per-screen average | number of screens this weekend | cumulative gross | days in release. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erin Brockovich (Universal) | -26% | 4,745 | 2,908 | 75,811,060 | 17 |
| God's Army (Zion) | -13% | 3,921 | 27 | 690,282 | 24 |
| Romeo Must Die (Warner Bros.) | -48% | 3,551 | 2,641 | 38,844,556 | 12 |
| Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai (Artisan) | -30% | 2,418 | 106 | 1,804,635 | 31 |
| Final Destination (New Line) | -26% | 2,314 | 2,314 | 28,344,513 | 17 |
| Mission to Mars (Buena Vista) | -42% | 1,327 | 2,505 | 54,459,333 | 24 |
| The Ninth Gate (Artisan) | -58% | 786 | 1,021 | 17,178,615 | 24 |
| Beyond the Mat (Lions Gate) | -69% | 662 | 167 | 1,837,219 | 24 |
| Drowning Mona (Destination Films) | -67% | 586 | 403 | 15,297,530 | 31 |
| 3 Strikes (MGM) | -60% | 500 | 301 | 9,589,919 | 33 |
| The Next Best Thing (Paramount) | -78% | 173 | 714 | 14,750,368 | 31 |
Updated 1:13 AM ET April 25, 2000 URL: http://news.excite.com/news/r/000425/01/film-weekend HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Following are final data for the top 60 movies at the North American box office during the April 21-23 weekend. The columns should read: rank / rank last weekend / film title (studio) / weekend gross / percentage change (vs. week-ago) / per-screen average / number of screens this weekend / number of screens last weekend / cumulative gross / days in release 39 / 40 / God's Army (Zion) / 108,457 / +42% / 2,213 / 49 / 33 / 1,269,579 / 45Over 6 weeks after its debut, "God's Army" appeared on an additional 16 screens, having opened in Idaho and other venues. Its national ranking actually increased, from 40 to 39th place, putting it ahead in weekend box office receipts of such major studio films as "The Tigger Movie", Sony's "Girl, Interrupted" with Whoopie Goldberg, and New Line's "The Price of Glory."
The cumulative gross so far was $1.27 million, well over the approx. $1 million initial investment. With box office sales still strong and strong video sales expected, "God's Army" is expected to turn a substantial profit for Zion Films and investors.
| rank | rank last weekend | film title (studio) | weekend gross | percentage change (vs. week-ago) | per-screen average | number of screens this weekend | number of screens last weekend | cumulative gross | days in release |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | -- | The Virgin Suicides (Paramount Classics) | 235,122 | -- | 13,062 | 18 | -- | 235,122 | 3 |
| 1 | -- | U-571 (Universal) | $19,553,310 | -- | 7,570 | 2,583 | -- | $19,553,310 | 3 |
| 2 | -- | Love & Basketball (New Line) | 8,139,180 | -- | 6580 | 1,237 | -- | 8,139,180 | 3 |
| 40 | 35 | East-West (Sony Classics-Odeon) | 103,396 | 14% | 4,924 | 21 | 13 | 744,634 | 213 |
| 47 | -- | Croupier (Shooting Gallery) | 80,247 | -- | 4,224 | 19 | -- | 80,247 | 3 |
| 23 | -- | The Other Conquest (Hombre de Oro) | 305,308 | -- | 4,126 | 74 | -- | 397,688 | 5 |
| 48 | 39 | Color of Paradise (Sony Classics) | 74,081 | -5% | 3,899 | 19 | 18 | 329,426 | 24 |
| 5 | 3 | Keeping the Faith (Buena Vista) | 7,233,699 | -10% | 3,352 | 2,158 | 2,152 | 18,635,886 | 10 |
| 4 | 2 | 28 Days (Sony) | 7,301,753 | -29% | 2,894 | 2,523 | 2,523 | 22,036,686 | 10 |
| 3 | 1 | Rules of Engagement (Paramount) | 8,007,551 | -27% | 2,487 | 3,220 | 3,190 | 43,050,371 | 17 |
| 39 | 40 | God's Army (Zion) | 108,457 | 42% | 2,213 | 49 | 33 | 1,269,579 | 45 |
| 11 | 7 | American Psycho (Lions Gate) | 2,705,028 | -45% | 2,178 | 1,242 | 1,236 | 9,728,053 | 10 |
| 9 | 9 | Final Destination (New Line) | 2,761,900 | -9% | 2,116 | 1,305 | 1,509 | 42,598,890 | 38 |
| 13 | 11 | High Fidelity (Buena Vista) | 2,251,076 | -16% | 1,829 | 1,231 | 1,229 | 20,133,817 | 24 |
| 6 | 4 | Erin Brockovich (Universal) | 5,500,790 | -22% | 1,800 | 3,056 | 3,070 | 107,386,500 | 38 |
In per-screen receipts, "God's Army" outperformed nearly all films this weekend except newly release features. In the list above, only "East-West" has been playing longer than "God's Army."
34 / 38 / God's Army (Zion) / 97,998 / -3% / 1,849 / 53 / 47 / 1,401,931 / 59
59 days after its initial release, "God's Army" jumped this weekend from the 38th highest weekend box office moneymaker to 34th place. The weekend's gross was $97,998, down just 3% from the previous weekend. The per-theater average was $1,849. "God's Army" was in 53 theaters, up from 47 the previous week. The cumulative gross was $1,401,931
Compared to some other films: "God's Army" was ranked a full ten places higher in total box office receipts than the big budget Buena Vista film "Mission to Mars," which had opened the same day. ("Mission to Mars", now ranked 44th, had a cumulative gross of $59,164,813, but audiences had fallen off compared to "God's Army" which was continuing to open in new venues.)
Another film which opened the same day as "God's Army" was Artisan's "The Ninth Gate". This weekend it was was ranked one place ahead of "God's Army", in 33rd place (total weekend box office). It was showing on 124 screens compared to "God's Army"'s 53 screens.
In total box office receipts, "God's Army" ranked ahead of many major studio films which had been showing for a shorter time or about the same amount of time. "God's Army" ranked ahead of Warner Brothers' "Ready to Rumble"; Trimark's "The Last September" (17 weeks); Warner Brothers' "The Whole Nine Yards" (80 weeks); USA Films' "Where the Money Is" (24 weeks); and Artisan's "Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai" (66 weeks), among others.
50 / 34 / God's Army (Zion) / 51,479 / -47% / 1,471 / 35 / 53 / 1,578,536 / 66
54 / 50 / God's Army (Zion) / 35,714 / -31% / 1,276 / 28 / 35 / 1,663,182 / 73
53 / 54 / God's Army (Zion) / 61,608 / +73% / 1,812 / 34 / 28 / 1,850,238 / 81
57 / 55 / God's Army (Zion) / 40,588 / -34% / 1,041 / 39 / 34 / 1,910,865 / 87