In an unprecedented movie industry success, The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith, increased its per showtime average 86% inside Utah Megaplex theaters in week six of its release after having already increased its performance 33% in week five from week four.
“This is just an indication of how much people like the movie,” said the film’s director and producer, Mitch Davis. “And people in Utah are finally waking up to the fact it won’t be in theaters forever.”
Davis cited the adversity his faith-promoting, indie film has had to overcome competing with five Disney blockbusters in a row to survive at the box office and called his movie’s Utah success “a modern day movie miracle.”
(Photo courtesy Excel Entertainment)
“I used to work for Disney but right now it’s pretty hard not to have ill will toward those guys,” Davis quipped, explaining his film had to compete for theater screens with Aladdin, Toy Story 4, the re-release of Avengers: End Game, the new Spiderman and, most recently, Lion King.
“I mean, seriously, it has been hand to hand combat trying to book and hold screens against those big movies,” Davis said.
Davis had special praise for regional theater chain, Megaplex Theatres, and its longtime head of programming, Cal Gundersen, for helping The Other Side of Heaven 2 perform well.
“It’s great when you have partners like Cal wanting you to succeed,” Davis praised. “He and everyone else at Megaplex down to the theater managers are all pulling for you and you feel it.”
Elder John H. Groberg, whose story this sequel and its predecessor tell, seconded Davis’s sentiments about the support of local theaters.
“Jean and I have visited several theaters the last few weeks and have been treated with kindness and generosity,” Groberg said. “There is something special about this film and the experience of seeing it inside a theater. I sincerely hope many others will make the effort to go and experience the same thing before the movie is gone from theaters.”
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