Despite a media blackout, the pro-life film, Unplanned, is a surprise hit.
Box Office Mojo reports the movie, which was released on March 29, has pulled in more than $8.6 million in North American theater revenue. That puts the film in fourth place for the week, trailing only mega-budget pictures Dumbo, Us, and Captain Marvel.
Unplanned is different from any other film that has been made on the abortion issue. It tells the true story of Abby Johnson, a Texas woman who became one the youngest clinic directors in Planned Parenthood history and was named the organization’s employee of the year in 2008. But even though she had undergone two abortions herself, she didn’t know much about the actual procedure. Then came the day when, in an emergency, she was asked to assist in an ultrasound-guided abortion.
Unplanned vividly depicts the procedure that prompted Johnson to quit Planned Parenthood and found And Then There Were None, a group that has assisted workers at abortion clinics to leave the industry. By her count, the number of “departees” is over 475 since 2012.
The movie tells a compelling story and yet is surprisingly nuanced. It shows pro-choice activists explaining the wrenching reasons that compel women to seek abortions and the ugliness of some pro-life activists who harass women.
But the film has met fierce resistance. Twitter suspended the film’s account briefly, in an incident the company said was “an accident.” TV networks have almost universally refused to air an ad for the movie.