Kanye West's short film, Jesus Is King, pulled in over $1 million at this weekend's box office.
According to Variety, the 35-minute film earned $1.03 million globally. $862,000 was generated from the 372 IMAX theaters that showed Jesus Is King in North America, while $175,000 was amassed from the 68 international venues that screened the film. Though Jesus Is King screened in 12 markets, it's just the first leg of the movie's run. IMAX tells Variety that it plans on expanding the film to 78 additional foreign territories on Nov. 8.
Kanye's partnership with IMAX fits perfectly into the company's new direction. During a conversation with Variety, the company's president, Megan Colligan, explained that Jesus Is King is allowing IMAX Entertainment to explore alternate ways of creating exclusive events. "We saw an opportunity to create a cultural moment with a visionary artist in a way that expands the IMAX brand, while surprising audiences and experimenting with what we can bring to our platform beyond blockbusters," she explained.
The film was directed by acclaimed photographer, Nick Knight, and accompanies Kanye's latest album of the same name. During a conversation with SHOWstudio, Knight touched on how this project isn't meant to focus solely on Yeezy. "Kanye did not want to be center stage. He said, ‘This isn't a film that is about me, this is a film about worship - that's a universal thing.' He certainly didn't want to be ‘Kanye West, the star of this film,'" Knight said. "It was a lack of ego and modest humility that was paramount to him in this film."
