Heaven Is for Real earned $21.5 million at the box office opening weekend, giving it the highest debut and the third-highest take April 18-20. The film released two days before the weekend, and adding Wednesday and Thursday’s take brings sales through the weekend to $28.5 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

Averaging $8,895 across 2,417 theaters during the weekend, Heaven Is for Real had nearly twice the take of the Johnny Depp-starring Transcendence, which only grossed $11.15 million, despite playing in more than 1,000 additional screens than Heaven.

Based on the Thomas Nelson-published New York Times best-seller of the same name, Heaven is for Real tells the story of Colton Burpo, a young boy whose brush with death led him to an experience of heaven. Todd Burpo, who co-authored the book with Lynn Vincent, is played by Greg Kinnear in the film, while newcomer Connor Corum portrays his son, Colton.

Heaven Is for Real is the third faith-based theater hit this year, joining Son of God and God’s Not Dead as headline-drawing box-office films in what has been called “the Year of the Bible Movie.” Son of God and God’s Not Dead have marched on to a $62.9 million and $48.3 million in sales, respectively, following strong opening weekends, while Heaven’s debut has already placed the film in the all-time top 10 for Christian films’ box-office receipts, according to Box Office Mojo.

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