With little promotion, the Passion of the Christ DVD sold 4.1 million copies in its first day, its distributors said. That adds to its impressive box office numbers, and makes Mel Gibson an even richer man.

Though the numbers are significant for a DVD, especially one rated R, it does not compare to Finding Nemo, which sold over 8 million copies on its first day of release.

Fox said sales exceeded expectations by 20 percent. They are hoping the final tally will be close to 15 million copies sold, which could bring in about $400 million. The film rang up $610 million in box office sales, the third highest grossing film of the year.

An advertisement through email was sent to 260,000 churches in the U.S., and 6 million other people.

The AP reports that some retailers are selling DVD’s bundled with a DVD player, as they hope the release of Passion of the Christ will entice people to purchase the system, an improvement to the old VHS machine.

The Passion of the Christ DVD is actually not getting great reviews. Critics have pointed out that the DVD lacks any extras, aside from an interview with Mel Gibson. Based on the millions sold and the millions to be sold, nobody seemed to care.

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