<P> The Passion of the Christ opened in the United States on February 25 , 2004 ( Ash Wednesday , the beginning of Lent ) . It earned $83,848,082 in its opening weekend , ranking it fourth overall in domestic opening weekend earnings for 2004 . It went on to earn $370,782,930 overall in the United States , and remained the highest grossing R - rated film in the domestic market . ( U.S. & Canada ) . The film sold an estimated 59,625,500 tickets in the US in its initial theatrical run . </P>
when did the passion of the christ come out
February 25 , 2004