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There’s George Foreman the boxer and George Foreman the grill. The Sony biopic out this Friday offers a different George. “I want to spread the word of God,” says Foreman (Khris Davis) in the trailer for “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World.”

It’s a production from faith-based Sony Pictures’ label Affirm Films. Its first film in 2008, “Fireproof” starring Kirk Cameron, grossed $33 million on a $500,000 budget. To date, the (mostly domestic) global theatrical gross for Affirm titles stands at $520 million — $400 million more than the films’ total production costs.

Directed by George Tillman Jr. and with Oscar-winner Forest Whitaker in a supporting role, “Foreman” may represent the biggest Affirm budget to date. (One source lists it at $34 million.) Prior Affirm budgets topped out at $20 million. It’s also got one of Affirm’s biggest releases, with 2,575 theaters.

Opening prospects are unclear.

Oscilloscope Laboratories’ Cannes Jury Prize Winner and Independent Spirit international film winner Joyland led New York’s Film Forum to one of its biggest opening weekends for a foreign language film in nearly a decade, taking in north of $21k on one screen, the distributor said. Buoyed by strong reviews and strategic marketing, the film by Saim Sadiq sold out nine showtimes, with the theater adding additional shows.

The first Pakistani film to officially compete at Cannes it screened in Un Certain Regard winning the Jury Prize then playing at TIFF, Sundance and New Directors/New Films. It is still banned in much of Pakistan due to themes of queerness and inclusiveness. Expands to LA on April 21, then to top 50 markets and beyond.

It was a decent weekend for specialty and arthouse fare with some solid openings amid lots of competition, including from wide-release adult fare like Air. That relatively speaking,...

Focus Features’ Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner A Thousand And One opened to a solid $1.8 million at 926 theaters — $1,942 per theater average — supported by a 96% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score and a B+ CinemaScore. It came no. 7 at the domestic box office, a strong showing for a complex, gritty film in a slow-to-recover specialty market.

“The fantastic critical response coupled with Teyana’s raw, powerhouse performance gives us confidence this film will continue to resonate with audiences across the country,” said Lisa Bunnell, Focus Features President of Distribution.

New York was the top market, overperforming with 18% of sales so far this weekend. Atlanta, D.C., Chicago and Philadelphia also have stronger than usual market shares for the debut feature from video and short film director A.V. Rockewell. Teyana Taylor is stunning as an unapologetic, free-spirited young Black woman, Inez, who kidnaps her six-year-old son Terry from the foster care system. They embark on a life together,...

Exclusive: Angel Studios — the studio behind the equity-crowdfunded, faith-based series The Chosen, which has done major business both online and in movie theaters — has today announced its launch of a theatrical division, as well as its appointment of Brandon Purdie as Vice President of Theatrical Distribution.

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Purdie joins Angel’s Global Distribution team headed up by SVP Jared Geesey, with plans to help the company continue to disrupt the typical film model by carving out its own network direct to theaters. He comes to Angel Studios with nearly 15 years’ experience running his own distribution outfit, Purdie Distribution, which has overseen the release of...