Kirk Cameron Credits Success of 'Unstoppable' to Serving Long Ignored Audience

Kirk Cameron Credits Success of 'Unstoppable' to Serving Long Ignored Audience

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 3 (UPI)–U.S. actor, evangelist and filmmaker Kirk Cameron says he hopes Thursday’s encore screening of his faith-themed film “Unstoppable” is as successful as its premiere last week.

The 42-year-old former teen idol has described the movie as his “most personal” project to date.

The documentary earned $2 million during its initial Sept. 24 screenings at 700 U.S. theaters, box-office records show. More than 150,000 tickets were sold for the NCM Fathom Events presentation of “Unstoppable,” which was arranged in partnership with Provident Films, and averaged almost $2,900 per screen in its opening, when Cameron spoke to audiences via video link from The Vines Center at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va.

An encore presentation of the film, accompanied by Cameron’s presentation, is scheduled for Thursday in more than 660 movie theaters.

Interest from audiences and the media grew after Cameron said Facebook and YouTube initially blocked the film’s trailer, labeling it as “unsafe” and “abusive.”

Cameron’s supporters immediately rallied online support and the trailer was reinstated, with representatives from the websites explaining the trailer was mistakenly flagged as violating their regulations against spam.

Asked if he expects as big a turnout Thursday as his film received last week, Cameron replied: “I hope so. We’re doing everything we can. … We would love to pack the theaters again Thursday. We tell people: ‘Even if you’ve seen the film, bring your friends who really might be struggling with this question and it might be keeping them from having a deep, abiding faith in God.’ And we’re hoping people use this as a tool to help people they care about.”

Best known as the star of the 1980s sitcom “Growing Pains,” Cameron is a married father of six children whose career focuses on acting in spiritual-themed films, such as the 2008 hit “Fireproof.” He also is active in the evangelical Christian ministry The Way of the Master.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.