Fireproof ignites box-office inferno

By Scott Tobias | September 24, 2008 | 8:40pm

Aux Features Newswire

Among the many useless email blasts we get every week, there's always one from Harry Medved at Fandango noting the movie ticketing site's sales in advance of the coming weekend. It's supposed to serve as a barometer for what movies people are excited about seeing—so excited, in fact, that they're worried about securing a seat—but the figures can be pretty deceptive. That's certainly the case with today's email from Medved, which reveals that a shocking 34% of Fandango sales are for Fireproof, the new Christian-themed marital drama starring Kirk Cameron as a fireman whose marriage is theatening to go up in flames. (Brace yourself for more cheesy fire-related metaphors. We can't help ourselves. We're weak.) Compare that to the next most popular film opening on Friday: Eagle Eye, which only accounts for 4% of Fandango sales.

But wait! Before you start shifting fake money around in your box-office rotisserie leagues, it should be noted that the gaudy 34% number reflects ticket blocks purchased by church groups and doesn't mean that Fireproof will upset a big-budget, heavily advertised spectacle like Eagle Eye. (Nights In Rodanthe, however, better check the rearview mirror. It may have to yield to a shiny red truck with sirens blaring.) Religious-based phenomena like The Passion Of The Christ are anomalies, but the bloc seems likely enough to make Fireproof a small-scale independent hit and turn Kirk Cameron into a born-again Cary Grant. Maybe next time, his wife can overdub the cooing in a silhouetted love scene.