The Last Supper 2025 Movie Review Trailer

 It’s one of the oldest stories ever told, but “The Chosen” is finding success with a very fresh approach to bringing the episodic biblical epic to audiences. Originally available to stream on a dedicated app, “The Chosen” chose to release its third and fourth seasons in theaters through Fathom Entertainment — an unprecedented decision for a full season of television, in the case of Season 4. But the unconventional strategy paid off handsomely, with Fathom grossing $72 million to date through “The Chosen’s” two seasons, plus a Christmas feature. Now preparing to release the show’s fifth season, “The Chosen: Last Supper,” starting March 27, the specialty distributor is pulling out all the stops.

It’s also a final rodeo for Fathom. The fifth season will be the last to be distributed by the company, as producers 5&2 Studios and global distributor Lionsgate recently made a deal for U.S. rights with Amazon to stream the final two installments as feature films. Amazon MGM will handle any potential theatrical release.

Director: Mauro Borrelli
Writers: Mauro Borrelli, John Collins
Stars: Robert Knepper, James Faulkner, Jamie Ward

When the idea of ​​releasing “The Chosen” in theaters instead of streaming or cable came up, “people looked at me like I was crazy,” says Ray Nutt, CEO of Fathom Entertainment. “But we had done our research and we knew the potential.”

Creator Dallas Jenkins’ franchise, initially funded through crowdfunding, has been a huge success, with spinoffs like “Bear Grylls’ The Chosen in the Wild” and merchandise ranging from picture books to marked artwork.

Theatrical pre-sales for the fifth season are twice as high as they were before the fourth, according to Fathom. Nutt predicts that final revenues could double, too, after “Last Supper” opens during Passover and Passover. The first two episodes will also premiere in 250 IMAX theaters — a first for a Fathom release, with about 2,100 theaters total.

The challenge of releasing an eight-episode series in three weeks is getting audiences to come back for the next two installments. So Fathom decided to make it easy for audiences to catch up on all the episodes.

“We came to the conclusion that doing something festival-style was the way to go,” Nutt says. The first two episodes will air for one week, with the next three premiering a week later, while the first two will continue to air. Then, for the final three episodes, audiences can watch just the last three or watch all eight. Theaters will offer ticket packages so viewers can commit to watching the entire feature for a special fee.

Since episodes of “The Chosen” are also available free of charge on the show’s app, the success in theaters is particularly notable. (“Binge Jesus,” the home screen suggests.)

“To me it’s just amazing that people are paying a movie ticket to go see it. It’s a tribute to the quality of the content,” Nutt says. “The production value is huge. The storytelling is incredible. And there are people from all faiths and walks of life coming to see this — it’s not just Christians.”

Fathom has established its reputation with a variety of programming, from music and opera events to anime and classic film revivals. But faith-based content is a cornerstone for the 20-year-old distributor, accounting for 40% of last year’s revenue. From “Los Elegidos” to “Entre Fronteras,” the genre contributed to 45% overall revenue growth in 2024 and 48% growth in 2023 — a rare bright spot in the struggling theatrical business.

Building a reputation in that genre means Fathom can engage directly with religious audiences, which is something many distributors would love to be able to do.

“We’ve established a lot of relationships in this particular area on the content side,” Nutt says. “But even more importantly, we’ve established relationships directly with the consumer. We have databases. We have access to people who have gone to see this content.” That helps convince producers that Fathom can tap into a niche audience for films from other producers, such as “Carlo Acutis: Roadmap to Reality,” about the first millennial saint, which opens April 27.

Another growth area for the company, which changed its name last year from Fathom Events to Fathom Entertainment, is classic film programming. Nutt says a new slate of big-screen classics with introductions by critic Leonard Maltin will be announced at CinemaCon, following the success of recent retrospective screenings such as “The Goonies.”

Watch The Last Supper 2025 Movie Trailer