‘China Cry’ Is a Blessing for Trinity Network

Trinity Broadcasting Network’s inspirational feature film “China Cry” has topped $1.75 million in cumulative grosses since its national release Nov. 2, according to its distributor.

The number of theaters showing the film in Orange County and the country dropped in the third weekend of its release, and the film’s per-screen average decreased by about 20%, according to Exhibitor Relations, the industry organization that tracks commercial releases.

“China Cry,” featuring an all-Asian cast, opened in 135 theaters nationally, including 13 in Orange County. This weekend, it is in 120 theaters in the country and eight in the county, dropping screens in Newport Beach and Mission Viejo.

Paul Crouch, the associate producer of “China Cry” and the president of Trinity Broadcasting Network--whose viewers donated the $6 million to make the film--said he was “completely blown away” by the figures after the film’s first weekend.

“It’s more than we ever expected in our wildest dreams,” he said. “We’re just neophytes in this business.”

Reviews generally have praised the film’s good intentions and production values, faulting it mainly for periodic heavy-handedness.

Crouch said the reviews for “China Cry,” which he characterizes as “without apology, a Christian-values film,” have “been very generous and very fair, particularly to the cast.” He said that distributors plan to increase bookings next month to take advantage of Christmas audiences and then take the film “to the hinterlands” in smaller markets where Trinity has television affiliates.

In documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service last week, the nonprofit, 235-station network reported that in 1989 it raised nearly $25 million in contributions from the public, boosting its net worth to about $100 million. Crouch himself reported a salary of $108,000, up from the $62,499 he reported for 1988.