The hit inspirational movie The Blind Side performed well at Christian retail in its first week released on DVD, debuting at No. 1 on the SoundScan charts.

One Christian movie executive said in a Facebook posting that the film--which won a best actress Oscar for star Sandra Bullock--had sold 38,000 units since its March 23 release.

The home-viewing release sparked controversy, with some independent retailers frustrated that Word Distribution made an exclusive Christian retail distribution agreement with Family Christian Stores (FCS), which offered the film for $19.97 in a pre-buy promotion.

Word officials said that they had offered the film to "key Christian retailers," who had declined to carry it because of concerns about some of the PG-13-rated content. However other retailers said they had not been contacted about carrying the film and were upset about being excluded.

Among them were Gerald Hicks, co-owner of Perfect Peace Christian Lifestyle Stores in Wichita, Kan., who said he was "outraged" by the exclusive arrangement. He brought in the film through a distributor. "We have sold the DVD well and have restocked," he told Christian Retailing. "My arguments are still valid, and the industry can only hope Word and Family regret doing business in this fashion."

SoundScan officials declined to comment on the breakdown of sales. FCS did not respond to inquiries.

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