“The Chosen,” popular streaming show depicting the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, has again been overwhelmed with support. When tickets for the theatrical release of the finale to the third season became available for purchase, so many fans flocked to the Fathom Events ticketing website that the purchasing portal temporarily crashed.
Not without its detractors, the show, the first season of which raised over $10 million in crowdfunding, has nevertheless captured the imagination of many Christians and non-Christians alike, connecting them to the stories of Jesus.
To date, the show has been streamed over 300 million times. It is considered the largest crowdfunded media project of all time.
The final two episodes of Season 3 will be shown in theaters on Thursday, Feb. 2, and Friday, Feb. 3. While the theatrical release will not affect the previously announced release schedule for online streaming, with the two episodes becoming available on Sunday, Feb. 5 and Tuesday, Feb. 7 respectively, many viewers jumped at the opportunity to see “The Chosen” on the big screen again.
“These are huge episodes,” said Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of “The Chosen,” in a livestream announcing the theatrical release. Describing the visual effects involved in recreating Jesus’ miracle feeding of the 5,000, Jenkins said, “That was, by far, the biggest thing we’ve ever done.”
Response to the announcement has apparently been overwhelming. In fact, so many viewers were compelled to purchase tickets to the showings that the Fathom Events website could not handle the influx of traffic and temporarily crashed.
The show announced the temporary disruption on their official Facebook page, saying, “Episodes 7 & 8 of Season Three are so big they demand to be on the big screen. And apparently you demand it, too, as the rush for tickets initially crashed the Fathom Events website. But now you can get tickets there or your local listing for our big Season Finale Thursday, Feb 2 or Friday, Feb 3.”
This is the second time this season that episodes of “The Chosen” will get a theatrical release. The first came in late 2021, when the first two episodes of the third season got a 12-day run in theaters.
RELATED: ‘The Chosen’ Season 3 Grosses Over $8 Million Opening Weekend, Coming in 3rd at the Box Office
In the first weekend of the run, the episodes grossed over $8 million, an impressive feat for a streaming show that would be completely free to watch from any device less than a month after its theatrical release.
