''Passion'' rises to $117.5 million over five days

Apparently, the saying is true: Jesus Lives. Mel Gibson’s hotly-anticipated film ”The Passion of the Christ” shattered even the most optimistic expectations and grossed a phenomenal $76.2 million over the weekend and $117.5 million since premiering on Ash Wednesday.

Fueled by heaps of publicity (not to mention controversy) and busloads of church groups who attended first-weekend screening, “”The Passion” became the No. 7 top opening of all-time, surpassing even ”The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” which earned $72.6 million in its first weekend last December. And even with its intense violence, it’s the second-biggest debut for an R-rated film, behind ”The Matrix Reloaded”’s $91.8 million last year.

Far behind in second place was ”50 First Dates,” which fell 38 percent to $12.6 million, bringing its total to a strong $88.7 million so far. Third place went to Ashley Judd’s thriller ”Twisted” with $9.1 million, a so-so showing for the actress.

Meanwhile, ”Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen” slipped 34 percent to $6.1 million, while the new ”Dirty Dancing” film, ”Havana Nights,” opened with only $5.9 million. Perhaps ”Havana”’s heroine, Romala Garai, should have found religion in the movie.