Moviegoers headed to see Left Behind this past weekend, making the thriller the top independent film in the nation. Starring Nicolas Cage, the film took in $6.3 million ($3,452 per screen average) in box-office receipts this past weekend after opening Oct. 3 on 1,790 screens across the United States and 35 in Canada.

Producer and co-writer Paul Lalonde was “pleased with the response” the film saw opening weekend.

“With a marketing budget less than one-tenth of what the studios spend on the movies we’re competing with, we had focused our marketing efforts toward our core Christian audience,” Lalonde said. “We had a strong social presence and knew awareness in the core demo was strong. Our goal was to enlist those fans to spread the word and to bring friends and family who weren’t necessarily believers. I have to give thanks to Director Vic Armstrong, star Nicolas Cage and the rest of the cast and team that brought it all together so well. But most of all, I want to thank the fans for supporting this movie, and all faith-based movies, by actually buying tickets and going to the theater.”

Freestyle Releasing’s Co-President Mark Borde also was pleased with the outcome.

“We were bullish on this film from the very beginning,” Borde said. “Originally slated for a 1,200-screen run in the U.S., we bumped it up to 1,790 theaters due to the pre-release demand. We are very pleased with these results in light of being up against five films, each in more than 3,000 theaters with far larger marketing budgets.”

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