10/4/11: “Courageous” a Smash at Box Office

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In its opening weekend, the Christian film Courageous packed theaters and was a huge success at the box office.

The story is a group of sheriff’s deputies whose lives are riddled with family failures — divorce, unwed fatherhood, a father’s abandonment and more.

The police drama stressing the importance of fatherhood was fifth overall in the weekend box office, selling an estimated 8.8 million dollars worth of tickets.

But it was number one in terms of earnings per theater — Courageous debuted in only 1,161 theaters nationwide while its competitors were showing on two-to-three times as many screens.

The strong debut answers the prayers of its filmmakers at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia that produced the previous box-office hits Fireproof and Facing the Giants.