Los Angeles, Calif., Jan 14, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of Christ," will be released on almost 2,000 screens in the United States next month.
Due to the controversy surrounding the film and the accusations that the film is anti-Semitic, Gibson’s Icon Productions first had difficulty finding a distributor.
But a deal was finally reached in October with Newmarket Films, a company that specializes in independent movies. Icon and Newmarket agreed to co-distribute the film and release it on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 25). The 2,000-screen release is similar to what a major studio release would receive.