When the Kendrick brothers met with their usual Hollywood movie studio contacts to distribute their latest picture, “Lifemark,” which came out Friday, the Christian filmmakers received a response they weren’t used to hearing: No thanks.
The three brothers based in Albany, Georgia, are known for making religious-themed pictures that perform fairly well at the box office, yet none of the big studios wanted “Lifemark,” two of them said. That’s because the movie dives head first into the abortion debate and expresses a clear opinion — that putting a child up for adoption is a much better choice than terminating a pregnancy.
The brothers, Alex, Stephen and Shannon, found a new partner in Fathom Events, a company owned by the three largest U.S. theater chains, to distribute the movie, and box office analysts said it could become a breakout hit in what’s expected to be an otherwise slow weekend for new releases.
