Hillsong doco a flop, but should we blame pirates?
Despite its more than 100,000 members across the 15 countries in which it operates, and its tax-exempt local revenues of $100 million annually, Hillsong Church has been deemed a flop at the US box office with its documentary.
The film, Hillsong: Let Hope Rise, which centers around chart-topping Sydney-based worship band Hillsong United, raked in US$1.3 million on its opening weekend in 816 US theatres.
According to Box Office Mojo, it ranked 13th for the weekend, falling far behind top grossing films Sully (US$21.6m), Blair Witch (US$9.5) and Bridget Jones’s Baby (US$8.5m), respectively.
While it’s not entirely fair to compare a film about the rise of a church that started in suburban Sydney in the ‘80s and a Christian rock band to the likes of Tom Hanks’ and Renée Zellweger’s new films, the film still doesn’t stack up when compared to other music documentaries.
Justin Bieber’s 2011 film Never Say Never raked in US$29.5 million in its opening weekend in the US; One Direction: This Is Us made US$15.8 million in 2013; and Katy Perry: Part of Me made US$7.1 million on its opening weekend.
The opening weekend numbers may not come as a surprise to some. According to Music Rights Australia, Hillsong United are one of the highest pirated local music groups. In April last year Hillsong Church’s publishing arm, Hillsong Music Publishing, delivered a submission statement preceding the Australian Government’s anti-piracy codeor Online Infringement Copyright Amendment Bill 2015.
“Despite the demographic of our audience being predominantly Christian, sadly we are not immune to the challenges posed by music piracy in this industry,” the submission stated.
Currently, Hillsong: Let Hope Rise is available for illegal download online. However, some of the infringing sites and YouTube videos containing links to the view the film have been blocked in Australia.
There is hope, however. 2012’s Swedish–British documentary film Searching for Sugar Man, which sparked a sold-out national tour for US-based singer-songwriter Rodriguez, opened in just three theatres in the US, and made $27,459 in its opening weekend. The film grossed US$9.6 million worldwide.
Similarly, Metallica’s fascinating and personal 2004 documentary Some Kind of Monster opened in three US theatres and made $46,359 in its opening weekend. The film may have only grossed US$2 million worldwide, but it hit #1 on six global DVD charts, including in New Zealand, Sweden and Ireland.
Hillsong: Let Hope Rise was directed by Michael John Warren (Nicki Minaj: My Time Again, Jay Z: Fade to Black, Shrek the Musical) and released via independent Christian film and television studio, Pure Flix Entertainment. The film was initially set for release in April 2015 via Warner Bros., however, the production giant dropped the film from its schedule reportedly following its failure to secure the rights deal for it.
Hillsong United topped the ARIA chart in 2013 and hit #5 in the US with third LPZion. It yielded the #1 single Oceans (Where Feet May Fail),which was certified Platinum for sales of 1 million. In June 2015, fourth album Empires also hit #1 on the ARIA chart and with over 50,000 equivalent album units sold first week in the US, hit #5 again on the Billboard 200 chart.
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