Despite facing some opposition, the faith-based film “Unplanned” achieved significant success at the box office during its opening weekend in late March 2019. While Disney’s “Dumbo” underperformed, “Unplanned” secured a spot in the top five, grossing an impressive $6.1 million from just 1,059 theaters.
The film’s success was particularly noteworthy for Pure Flix, a studio known for targeting the faith-based audience. Co-directors Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman expressed their gratitude in a statement, acknowledging the overwhelming support from the American public. They stated, “We are thrilled, gratified and humbled… It humbles us and we look forward to seeing what happens in the weeks ahead.”
“Unplanned” tells the true story of Abby Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood employee who underwent a transformation to become a pro-life activist. More information can be found at foxnews.com.
The film’s release wasn’t without its challenges. The movie’s Twitter account experienced temporary suspension and a sudden loss of approximately 50,000 followers, which sparked outrage among fans. Twitter officials attributed the issues to an “error,” but many questioned why such errors seemed to disproportionately affect conservatives.
Ashley Bratcher, the actress portraying Abby Johnson, voiced her concerns on “Fox & Friends,” calling the situation “outrageous” and “incredibly suspicious.” She noted that she was even unfollowed from the movie’s own account.
Adding to the controversy, the film received an R rating, which further upset fans. Johnson, who now runs a ministry called “And Then There Were None” that aids abortion workers in finding new employment and closing down former clinics, reported that she was unable to follow the movie’s Twitter account. She posted on Twitter:
Irony…I can’t even follow the @Twitter account for my own film. It keeps kicking me off. @UnplannedMovie — Abby Johnson (@AbbyJohnson) April 1, 2019
A Twitter spokeswoman told Fox News that the platform enforces its rules “impartially for all users, regardless of their background or political affiliation.” However, numerous testimonials contradicted these claims. Richard Grenell also weighed in, tweeting:
What is going on @jack ? This is outrageous. pic.twitter.com/bPOkZ6JbOi — Richard Grenell (@RichardGrenell) April 1, 2019
Despite the backlash, the @UnplannedMovie account gained over 247,000 followers. Bratcher highlighted the high audience scores and the film’s unexpected box office success, exceeding expectations by a significant margin. Additional information is available at foxnews.com.
In contrast to “Unplanned’s” success, Disney’s “Dumbo” remake underperformed, earning an estimated $45 million domestically from 4,259 locations against a $170 million production budget. While “Dumbo” received mixed reviews, it did surpass Jordan Peele’s “Us,” which earned $33.6 million, bringing its domestic total to $128.2 million. Disney and Marvel’s “Captain Marvel” secured third place with $20.5 million, reaching over $350 million in North America. The teen drama “Five Feet Apart” took fourth place with $6.3 million. Harmony Korine’s “The Beach Bum” grossed $1.8 million. Overall, the weekend box office was down by approximately 2%, and the year was lagging by about 16.4%.
Keywords: Faith-based film, box office, pro-life activist, Twitter, conservatives, Planned Parenthood, controversy, Disney.