.- “The Passion of The Christ” remained the top draw at the North American box office this past weekend, grossing about $51.4 million. After only 12 days in theaters, ticket sales for Mel Gibson’s film have reached $212 million (including $3 million in private group sales before it was released Feb. 25), said Bob Berney, president of Newmarket Films. He expects sales at the box office to reach at least $300 million in North America.
Ticket sales slipped only 39 percent from its first weekend, which is quite impressive since most films lose about half their business in the second weekend.The film opened March 5 in Portugal and Poland.
