'God's Not Dead' Makes Box-Office History

God's Not Dead,' which pulled in $8.5 million on its opening weekend, stands as further proof 

of the desire to see faith-affirming movies on the big screen. (Pure Flix Entertainment)

'God's Not Dead' 

Makes Box-Office 

History

 3/24/2014 BEN KAYSER/MOVIEGUIDE

Divergent may have been the No. 1 movie at the box office this past weekend, but the movie everyone is talking about is the independent faith-based movie God's Not Dead.

Pulling in $8.5 million on the first weekend and amassing an impressive $10,979 per-screen average, the movie stands as further proof of the desire to see faith-affirming movies on the big screen.

God's Not Dead is a movie about Josh Wheaton, a freshman college student who is forced to defend his Christian faith against an angry philosophy professor. Starring Kevin Sorbo as the atheist professor, David A.R. White as a priest who encourages Josh and guest appearances by Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson, the movie also ends with a performance from the Newsboys as they perform their song "God’s Not Dead."

Freestyle Releasing co-president Mark Borde, who distributed the Pure Flix Entertainment movie, states, “While this huge opening may be a surprise to the industry, it is not so much to us. The in-house tracking, the legitimate 1 million Facebook fans, the very high trending on Twitter and Fandango among many other platforms, and the huge positive reaction from the hundreds of screenings over the many past months, gave us hope for a significant opening.”

With Son of God already pulling in $55 million domestically and several other-faith based films slated for the next month, including Noah and Heaven Is for Real, it seems quite clear that more than ever, God is working in the hearts and minds of Americans through the medium of movies.

Click here to read Movieguide's review of God's Not Dead.

This article originally appeared on Movieguide.org.