Kingdom of Heaven Opens at Top Box Office Spot

The film about the European Crusader's last attempt to retake the Holy Land from Muslim-control opened this weekend at the top of box offices in markets worldwide.

The epic tale “Kingdom of Heaven” features the story of a blacksmith turned-warrior who joins his knightly father in Jerusalem to retake the city for Christendom with military force. The movie is set between the second and third crusades – there were eight crusades in total – and is largely a film that does not have overt religious undertones.

The Christians and Muslims in the film are vaguely religious, but their distinctive faiths are not explained or emphasized in the movie. The movie, unlike last year’s The Passion of the Christ, was therefore marketed as a secular film in the secular market.

At Monday’s count, the Kingdom of Heaven grossed $20 million – fractions of Passion’s debut – in the U.S. market alone. The film played in wide release at 3,216 theaters and averaged $6,219 per cinema, according to AP. The movie also opened in international markets and earned an additional %56 million.