To the surprise (and consternation) of Hollywood, Unplanned opened to more than $6 million in box office receipts, finishing #5 in the nation. And it did this while opening in less than 1,100 theaters nationwide.
More importantly, this powerful, pro-life movie that exposes the evil of Planned Parenthood and the abortion industry is making a powerful impact on its viewers. This could truly be a major game-changer in the days ahead.
Not that the left didn’t try hard to stop the film from getting out of the gate, let alone succeeding. Lead actress Ashley Bratcher was warned that she was “probably gonna be blacklisted” by Hollywood if she took the role. The Hollywood Reporter notes that, “Lifetime, Hallmark Channel, HGTV and several other cable networks” rejected advertising for the movie.
I’ve heard of theaters that dropped the movie before its release, only to reinstate it after protests. Then there was the ridiculous R-rating the movie was saddled with, without possible justification.
Twitter temporarily suspended the movie’s account, only to restore it after a storm of protests. Then, once the account was restored, more than 100,000 followers realized they were no longer listed on the account. This is beyond suspicious. But now amazingly, Unplanned now has more Twitter followers than Planned Parenthood whose account has been in existence almost 7 years longer.
And still, despite all this opposition (and more) the movie brought in more than $6 million in the first weekend, more than doubling prior estimates.
But these ratings only tell you so much. It’s the testimonies of the viewers which are so powerful. One man posted this on my Facebook page: “I had tears throughout the movie. Got to my car and really broke down. Thank you God that you are allowing people to see your side of this issue.”
A woman wrote: “I cried through so much of this movie. I don’t understand how people can continue to justify the killing of the unborn. I walked out of this movie with the conviction to get involved in crisis pregnancy assistance ASAP.”
A mother posted this: “I took my 16 year old and she was greatly impacted. She had no strong opinion on abortion until she saw this movie. I’m taking my 11 year old to see it next.”
But the comment that moved me most was this one, from another mother who went with her daughter. Her own story is compelling as well. Read this and weep:
“Wow what a movie! I went to see it with my 11yrs old daughter Bella. I was reluctant at first to take her, I prayed about it and got the green light from The Holy Spirit. Yet there were scenes where she covered her eyes, she was glad she saw it too. At the end she hugged me so tight, started crying uncontrollably and said ‘So much evil mommy, those poor babies. Everyone needs to see this movie.’
“She is also one of those babies who got saved by prayer. I was one of those women who had an appointment to murder my baby when I was 12weeks with her, but cancel the appointment hours prior doing ‘the procedure’ at a clinic here in Houston…”
May God have mercy on our nation. May He turn the tide in our country. May He act on behalf of more than 60 million slain in the womb.
And so we pray, “So much evil, Lord! These poor babies! Help us to do our part to awaken the conscience of the nation. We beseech You, Father, to change hearts and minds. It’s time!”