The Nativity Story was expected to put up box office numbers comparable to The Passion of the Christ. Thus far, that has not happened. The film did only slightly over eight million dollars of business in its first week of domestic release.
Raphael Michaels of the Christian Film Society of Hollywood was asked why he felt the movie was underperforming. Following are a list of his reasons:
1. When Joseph and Mary had no room at the Inn, it was not a Holiday Inn.
2. On their trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem, Mary road a donkey, not a Ford Bronco.
3. There was no product placement in Bethlehem. For example, Joseph did not have a Nike swoosh on his sandals.
4. The Wise Men did not give gifts of Ikea, wine and cheese, and Wal-Mart gift cards.
5. People rode camels, not smoked them.
6. When the Archangel Gabriel spoke to Joseph, he told him that his espoused wife was with child, he did not tell him that his ?old lady was knocked up by the big guy.?
7. Pontius Pilate was not in the Nativity story and did not work for United Airlines.
8. King Herod did not have a Harley Davidson tattoo on one arm and an Oakland Raiders on the other.
9. Mary did not wear thong underwear.
10. There were not mile markers, exits, or billboards on the path the Bethlehem.
11. Mary was visited by an Angel, not by her fairy godmother.
12. Joseph did not chew bubblegum.
13. Mary did not have sonogram pictures to show everyone.
14. The innkeeper did not have a round can of Skoal in the back pocket of his robe. He was also not from New Delhi.
15. Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, did not have a barbed wire design tattoo above her butt.
16. Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, did not wear a baseball cap or acrry a six pack.
17. Mary was a virgin, she was not employed by Virgin Records.
18. Mary did not have a box of Pampers in her saddlebags for when the delivery came.
19. Joseph was not worried about whether or not his HMO would cover the OB and the delivery.
20. The inn did not have a rack of tourist brochures in the lobby. It also did not take Visa, Mastercard, or American Express.
21. No one wore a crucifix
22. The heavenly choir (heard by the shepherds in the fields) were not beating tambourines. The shepherds were also herding sheep, not a mixture of Hereford cows, longhorns, and emus. They did not wear Tony Lama boots and Stetson hats.
