Box Office: ‘God’s Not Dead’ Soaring to $8.2 Million Opening in Limited Release

Talk about a box office diversion.

Shailene Woodley’s “Divergent” might be the No. 1 film in America but faith-based audiences are once again proving to be anything but conservative at the U.S. box office.

Christian drama “God’s Not Dead,” opening in fewer than 800 theaters, is on track for an impressive $8.2 million this weekend. That’s a per-screen average of over $10,400 from 782 locations.

The movie, produced by Pure Flix Entertainment and Red Entertainment, was only thought to reach $5 million through Sunday, still an impressive figure, but much like other Biblical stories of late, “God’s Not Dead” is seeing a heavenly windfall from religious audiences.

Earlier this month, the Mark Burnett-produced “Son of God” opened to $26 million at the box office while Russell Crowe’s Biblical tale “Noah” is expected to top the box office next weekend.

The low-budget “God’s Not Dead” tells the story of a college student who sets out to prove God’s existence.

Willie Robertson of “Duck Dynasty” appears in the film and shared with The Christian Post in an interview last week that his faith was strengthened as a result of the film, in which he appears as himself alongside his wife.

“I thought it was well written and it came together,” Robertson told the Christian Post, adding that the film “really raised the bar with these faith-based movies.”

Co-starring Shane Harper and Kevin Sorbo, “God’s Not Dead” is distributed by FreeStyle Releasing.

Get more from Variety and Variety411: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter