Liberal Hollywood and the movie industry are shocked. Captain Marvel may be a superhero, but Planned Parenthood Manager Abby Johnson’s riveting story got a lot more interest from ticket buyers.
The film “Unplanned” depicts the true story of Ms. Johnson, whose eight-year career selling abortions and directing a Texas Planned Parenthood franchise was abruptly stopped when she actually saw an abortion – from the baby’s point of view.
Industry predictions in liberal California were dire for the pro-life film, which was not only disavowed by the nation’s largest tax-funded abortion chain but met fierce opposition from liberal groups.
Though “Unplanned” has no nudity, no cursing, no violence, and doesn’t even directly show any abortions, the Motion Picture Association of America slapped it with a “RATED – R” warning to discourage attendance.
Predictably, the mainstream media obeyed a paid media blackout, with TV and radio networks refusing to air commercials for the film. Twitter inexplicably banned the movie’s page.
But word-of-mouth across America brought ticket buyers by the theater-full.
Instead of a blip on the radar, “Unplanned” beat out Captain Marvel and a host of other major releases in per-screen ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. It came in as the fourth most popular movie in the country, with an opening weekend take of over $6.3 million.
As a direct result of the powerful opening weekend, “Unplanned” was distributed to hundreds of more theaters last weekend, where the movie again posted strongly as the eighth most popular movie nationwide and raked in another $3.3 million.
“I think that people are searching for the truth and healing, and ‘Unplanned’ offers both in abundance,” Johnson told The Horn News. “The film truly radiates the infinite mercy and love of God, more than any other modern movie.”
But Johnson admitted to The Horn that winning opening weekend was very gratifying.
“Beating out the per-screen average of Captain Marvel on opening weekend was a huge win,” she told The Horn. Then she added, reflectively, “Perhaps shows that America is ready to make abortion unthinkable.”
Johnson ran the Bryan TX Planned Parenthood abortuary until, because of a shortage of assistants, she was asked to enter the abortion chamber to help in an ultrasound-guided termination.
What she saw rocked her to the core of her being.
Though the preborn baby was only 13-weeks gestation, as the abortionist began the cutting inside the womb, Johnson says she saw the baby pull away, resisting the cold, hard scalpel. Johnson said she watched in horror as the baby was literally cut into pieces alive and ripped out of her mother.
At that moment, Johnson decided to quit her promising career with Planned Parenthood.
“Unplanned” doesn’t focus on abortion, though. The movie is a story of redemption and freedom from regret.
“This film can be that spark to bring more hearts and minds to understanding the value of life,” Pure Flix president Michael Scott said.“We hope that those on both sides of the pro-life and pro-choice debate will see Unplanned and begin to have a productive dialogue.”
“I could not be more thrilled,” Johnson said. “My inbox is filled with stories of post-abortive women who are finding healing through this film, as well as pro-choice people who have started to question their beliefs.”
Ashley Bratcher, who stars in the film, said she was “blown away” by the positive public response.
“Despite biased critic reviews written more like op-eds, the audience has spoken,” Bratcher said. But “the most rewarding thing is the flood of messages I’ve received from people experiencing healing and a change of heart.”
On top of its exploding popularity, “Unplanned” received one of the most coveted reviews of all. CinemaScore, a private Las Vegas research firm which surveys moviegoers, found “Unplanned” got an “A+.”
Of the nearly 800-900 movies released in the U.S. each year, an average of only two receive a CinemaScore of A+.
“Unplanned” also received a 93% positive audience score from attending reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
After her harrowing experience with Planned Parenthood, Johnson founded the And Then There Were None organization, which helps abortion workers leave the industry and find life-affirming jobs. To date, And Then There Were None has assisted nearly 500 abortion workers leave the grizzly killing business, including seven doctors.
Planned Parenthood still receives over half a billion dollars in taxpayer funds. President Donald Trump has made repeated attempts to defund the abortion giant.
— Father Mark Hodges is a reporter for The Horn News