Manatee audiences expected to pack 4 Christian movies
From his office in New Jersey, Bud Mayo, president of Carmike theater’s alternative programing and distribution division, tracks all kinds of numbers.
Mayo can rattle off most any area of the country and what kind of alternative programing people there like there.
Alternative programing is anything that swerves off the course of traditional Hollywood movies, such as live Grateful Dead concerts, ballet, opera, symphonies, documentaries, Grand Ole Opry and Christian movies.
Bradenton is very familiar to him because, according to his numbers, a large segment of the population likes faith-based programing.
“We are in the business of showing content that people desire to see and, in Bradenton, people have made their feelings known about faith-based content,” Mayo said Wednesday. “Bradenton is among our best run theaters and alternative programing, especially faith-based, is popular there.”
Operations manager Wayne Douchkoff of Bradenton’s Carmike Royal Palm 20 theater, at 2507 53rd Ave. E., at the intersection of U.S. 301 and State Road 70, recently announced the showing of five Christian films, of which one, “The Insanity of God,” just ran on Tuesday.
The four remaining films include “Hillsong: Let Hope Rise,” “To Joey, with Love,” “Vanished Left Behind: Next Generation,” and Kirk Cameron’s “Revive US.”
The numbers from Tuesday’s showing of “The Insanity of God” were not lost on Mayo.
“For that film, we sold 179 tickets,” Douchkoff said Wednesday. “That’s for a 220 seat theater. It was basically a sell-out.”
“The Insanity of God” was first scheduled for one showing at Royal Palm 20 on Aug. 30, but the response was so strong that it was shown again in Aug. 31, Douchkoff said.
“The key is community support and people in this area appreciate these movies,” Douchkoff said. “The response is good. People are spreading the word.”
We are in the business of showing content that people desire to see and, in Bradenton, people have made their feelings known about faith-based content. Bradenton is among our best run theaters and alternative programing, especially faith-based, is popular there.
Bud Mayo
president of Carmike theater’s alternative programing and distribution division“Hillsong: Let Hope Rise” tells the story of the Australia-based Christian worship band, Hillsong United. The band was formed in 1998 at Hillsong Church, in fact in the church’s youth ministry.
The group has recorded roughly a dozen live albums and four studio albums.
“To Joey, with Love” is the story of the hope and faith-filled husband and wife singing duo, Joey and Rory Feek. The movie was actually filmed by the couple over two and a half years, during which time Joey Feek struggled and ultimately lost a battle to cancer.
“Vanished/Left Behind: Next Generation” is a suspense film whose plot is that a billion people around the globe suddenly vanish.
The movie follows four young people who try to figure out what happened and how they fit into this new world.
“Revive Us” is termed an “inspirational live event experience” with Kirk Cameron. Cameron won faith-based film fans with two previous projects, “Monumental” in 2012 and “Unstoppable” in 2013.
“Revive Us” includes music and inspirational speakers including Francis Chan, Dr. Ben Carson,
Eric Metaxas and others.
Richard Dymond: 941-745-7072, @RichardDymond
Christian film schedule
- “Hillsong: Let Hope Rise,” 2, 4:30, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Sept. 22
- “To Joey, with Love,” 7 p.m. Sept. 20 and Oct. 6
- “Vanished/Left Behind: Next Generation,” 7 p.m. Sept. 28
- “Revive US,” 8 p.m. Oct. 18 and 7 p.m. Oct. 24
- Where: Carmike Royal Palm 20, 2507 53rd Ave. E., Bradenton
- Tickets: Regular pricing up to $15
- Information: 941-752-3796
This story was originally published September 20, 2016 at 3:56 PM with the headline "Manatee audiences expected to pack 4 Christian movies."