The Marketing of The Christ

Mel Gibson's torturous treatise on the death of Jesus is getting a formidable marketing push by video distributor 20th Century Fox. Six million Jesus Spams were sent out by the studio to "Christian households," and 260,000 postcards have been mailed to churches offering bulk packaging of the bloody film. Fox also suggested to churches that they persuade parishioners to buy their own bloody copies.

The Passion of The Christ currently stands at #7 on the list of all-time movie moneymakers in the U.S. Jesus Christ is not expected to make any money off this retelling of the last hours of his life, even if he comes back to Earth tomorrow. Sales of official The Passion of The Christ cross nails may or may not benefit Jesus, depending on his contract with Gibson.