Cinematical

A 13th-place opening weekend doesn't sound good to most studios, but for 20th Century Fox's new Christian division, FoxFaith, it has to sound great. The Ultimate Gift made over $1 million on only 814 screens, which should be encouraging for others in Hollywood still interested in cashing in on success of The Passion of the Christ. Since Mel Gibson's 2003 surprise smash hit about Good Friday, we've seen a flop with the story of Christmas, but there are plenty more holiday origins to bring to the big screen.

Producer Ashok Amritraj is hoping audiences are more interested in the events directly following The Passion of the Christ. He has begun work on Risen -- The Story of the First Easter, which will feature the apostle Peter and his telling of Jesus' resurrection. Amritraj's Hyde Park Entertainment has a deal at Fox, but whether such a big project would be released by FoxFaith, or Fox at all, is not yet decided. Hopefully the film will be completed around the same time as Screen Gems' The Resurrection and MGM's Myriam, Mother of Christ so the three can have an Easter 2008 showdown. In fact, the Weinsteins might want to get in on that action, too.