The creators of “The Chosen” announced they will be premiering the last two episodes of season three in theaters, and series fans grabbed tickets so quickly Sunday night that it crashed the ticketing website.
The finale for the faith-based series will debut in theaters on February 2 and 3 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. before becoming available on its free app. Episodes 7 and 8 will be shown at select movie theaters nationwide, Dallas Jenkins explained.
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“These are huge episodes,” Jenkins said.
The Fathom Events website crashed shortly after the creator and director announced ticket sales Sunday during a Chosen livestream.
“[The episodes] are so big they demand to be on the big screen,” said a message on the series’ official Facebook page. “And apparently, you demand it, too, as the rush for tickets initially crashed the Fathom Events website.”
The website is now back online.
Jenkins shared that three factors led to the theatrical release of the final episodes:
* Theaters have demanded it;
* Fans are demanding it;
* And the scope of the story demands it.
“Because of the success of the Christmas special last year, theaters are saying, ‘We want The Chosen in our theater,'” Jenkins said. “… They’re saying, ‘Please release as many episodes as you can in theaters.'”
This will be the third theatrical event for the series following its breakout Christmas-themed film in 2021 and a highly successful kick-off of season three.
The first two episodes of this season were released in November and became such a huge success that the event snagged the top 3 slot at the box office opening weekend, finishing domestically with $8,687,682.
“The success of The Chosen Season 3: Episode 1 & 2 is the perfect example of how innovative the event cinema business has become and how hungry audiences are for faith-based content,” said Ray Nutt, CEO of Fathom Events. “Additionally, the robust partnership that we’ve developed with Angel Studios and The Chosen team really works – not only for Fathom Events and our exhibition partners but for fans everywhere, including several international territories who want to see this content on the big screen and as a community.”
The miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 will be a part of the final showing and Jenkins said the scene “demands” to be on the big screen.
“That was, by far, the biggest thing we’ve ever done,” he said.
As CBN News has reported, The Chosen is the largest crowd-funded media project in history and is a global phenomenon.
The series about the life of Jesus and his disciples took the faith-based film industry by storm in 2017. According to the Chosen App, there have been more than 400 million views of the first two seasons, behind-the-scenes looks, and cast Q&A.
Fans who choose to watch the film on the app — instead of in theaters — can view the episodes for free on the platform on Feb. 5 for episode seven and Feb. 7 for episode eight.
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