In a city gearing up for its team's appearance in the Super Bowl Sunday, Provident-Integrity Distribution has been celebrating its own football success with the DVD release of Facing the Giants.

A day after the $100,000 movie produced by a Georgia church was released for home viewing, the distributor was flooded with reorder calls from retailers, said Vice President of Marketing for Provident Films Kris Fuhr.

“The response we have had has been amazing,” she said. “We have had tons of letters and e-mails from consumers saying they picked this up at their Christian bookstore.” Family Christian Stores pre-sold more than 30,000 copies of the special edition released only to Christian retail, she added.

Showing continuously at the Provident-Integrity booth, where staff sported shirts with “Giants” across the back, Facing the Giants was a surprise hit at theaters last year, earning more than $10 million in box-office sales.

In the lead-up to Sunday's game, Christian bookstores are joining churches and youth groups in staging Facing the Giants tailgate parties, movie nights and home showings. Among them is Christian Supply in Spartanburg, S.C., which plans a red carpet reception for four Giants cast members.

Made by Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., with an all-volunteer cast, Facing the Giants rode a wave of media attention last year when the MPAA gave its first PG rating to a film for what it originally termed “proselytizing.”

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