Mel Gibson’s early 2000s epic has been resurrected on streaming.
Though best known to many for his on-screen work, Gibson is also an accomplished director and is behind films like Braveheart (1995), Apocalypto (2006), and Hacksaw Ridge (2016). Released in 2004, one of Gibson’s most successful directorial works remains The Passion of the Christ.
Now, on Easter Sunday, The Passion of the Christ has ascended to become a major hit on Netflix. As of writing, the religious epic stands as the tenth most popular movie on the streaming service globally, behind titles like War Machine (2026), Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man (2026), 40 Acres (2025), and Extraction (2020), among other movies.
Gibson’s film has made the Netflix top 10 in over two dozen countries, including Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Qatar, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Though The Passion of the Christ is not currently available to watch on Netflix in the U.S., American viewers looking to watch the film can buy or rent the title on most major VOD platforms.
Depicting the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth on the day of his crucifixion, Gibson’s epic stars Jim Caviezel as Jesus, Monica Bellucci as Mary Magdalene, and Maia Morgenstern as Mary, with Christo Jivkov, Francesco De Vito, and Mattia Sbragia also starring.
Gibson, who most recently directed Flight Risk (2025), self-financed The Passion of the Christ and made it on a budget of $30 million. The movie went on to become a major box office hit, grossing $610 million worldwide. The film earned mixed reviews, however, and sports only a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.
22 years later, Gibson is now set to return to the world of his biblical epic with the upcoming The Resurrection of the Christ. Split into two parts, the first installment of Gibson’s sequel is scheduled to release on March 26, 2027, with Part Two then expected to arrive just over a month later on May 6.
The film is set to feature a new cast, with Jaakko Ohtonen replacing Caviezel as Jesus and Mariela Garriga replacing Bellucci as Mary Magdalen. Unlike the modestly budgeted original, Gibson’s two sequels are reported to have a large combined budget of $200 million or more.
It remains to be seen how Gibson’s sequels fare in today’s very different theatrical landscape, but audiences around the world are evidently enjoying revisiting The Passion of the Christ. With a release date now less than a year away, it likely won’t be long before Gibson shares a first-look image from the ambitious follow-up.
- Release Date
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February 25, 2004
- Runtime
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127 Minutes
