Mel Gibson pulled down 20 million dollars on the first day of showing, and it was a Wednesday - Ash Wednesday by some strange coincidence. By the end of this weekend he should be well into the black with his fascinating portrayal of some guy being tortured to death. What? Someone making a profit off of religion? How long has this been going on? I'm also struck once again with the disingenuous of the mass attendance because this film is so very reflective of Catholic religiosity. No real theology is explored, nothing cerebral at all, only a meditative fixation on the physical suffering and mutilation of a person's body. I would think that non-Catholics would find the film offensive and apostate. Then again, I suppose fundies are so starved for entertainment they are actually permitted to experience, that the bloody gore of this film is a welcome relief from their approved lists of "Herbie the Love Bug" type movies. I watched as the newscasters caught those leaving th...