This is a follow-up to last week’s blog on the movie Cabrini. A few of our subscribers have seen the film and confirmed the fact the theaters averaged only a handful of viewers. So, is Cabrini a financial success?
If you try Googling the answer, you may come up with completely conflicting numbers. I originally stated the film cost $15 million to make, but now I find it had a “budget” of $50 million. On one site the box office gross is listed as $200 million worldwide. On other sites the gross is only $20 million. The man who funded the film claimed it made $100 million as of last February – but it wasn’t even released to theaters until March! Even playing at 2,800 theaters, with low attendance numbers, I find it hard to believe it has even broken even yet.
The non-professional reviews have been mixed, although the positives greatly outweigh the negatives. One viewer wrote that “Protestants seem to be avoiding the film due to its Catholic subject matter.” He further stated “I found it sad that Catholic congregations are not promoting this film due to its less than positive but realistic view of Church hierarchy.”
I visited the site of the Catholic Tablet and found only positive editorials, indicating no official Church objection to the movie despite the less-than-flattering character of New York’s Archbishop Corrigan.
Yet, there was one online viewer who had this to say: “As a practicing Catholic this movie was an incredible disappointment. No mention of Mother Cabrini’s devotion to Jesus Christ, no scenes of prayer, no mention of the order of Nuns.”
This comment moved me to contact a ‘militant’ wing of Catholic organizations for its opinion. I received this reply: “We promoted the film via an eblast on February 29, 2024…[after that] promotional email, there was a certain portion of our subscribers that were shall we say less than happy with the film… They did not like that we were promoting a movie that overly secularized this saint. As a result, we took a step back and did not pursue more on this front.
As my main interest in Cabrini is in its depiction of Italians rather than Catholics I believe that these opinions, as well as the lack of heavy publicity, had their effect on Italian American movie-goers. Among the circle of my family and friends, almost none have seen the film. Extrapolate that to the nation’s 20 million Italian Americans and Cabrini has not impacted us to any significant degree. A pity, since we have been clamoring for positive media images for a century.
When Italian Americans pull together.
For most of us the enduring depiction of Italian immigration is in Godfather II, through the eyes of Coppola’s murderers and thieves. Cabrini is the antithesis of that image. Sadly, we had to wait for a Mexican filmmaker (Alejandro Monteverde), an Anglo producer (J. Eustace Wolfington), and a Mormon film distributor (the Harmon brothers) to achieve a solid alternative to that Hollywood defamation. But do we sustain it with mass attendance to Cabrini? How many of our social and fraternal organizations have arranged group trips to Tony & Tina’s Wedding or A Bronx Tale but not to Cabrini? The Cabrini film shouldn’t be a religious controversy for Italian Americans.
Our Long Island associate and Analyst Joseph Graziose reminded me of a Mother Cabrini controversy just before the Covid-19 lockdowns. The activist wife of then-Mayor Bill De Blasio (née Wilhelm) wanted to honor famous New York women with statues. She called on New Yorkers to submit names for the ‘She Built New York’ project and received over 200 votes for Mother Cabrini, other names received far less. Miffed by the choice, De Blasio’s wife, Chirlane McCray, nixed Cabrini. That action mobilized the Italian American community with then-Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn organizing a fundraiser to create a statue to the nun. He was soon joined by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo, who provided a site for the statue, and by the Columbus Citizens Foundation. Together, this coalition designed and produced a fitting tribute to Mother Cabrini by Columbus Day, 2020. Meanwhile, Chirlane McCray’s statues are not even on the drawing board…and she is now separated from DeBlasio. God works in strange ways!
If you can’t find a theater, you can view Cabrini online at the link below. It’s worth the effort. -JLM
Let me say as well if, and I state IF, the figures are inconsistent and incorrect with cost and monies made, well, that is something to be clarified. At the same time, let me share what most national Italian American organizations did throughout the release of the movie and that was to saturate with constant social media announcements that the movie was being released and communications as to theaters and the like. In terms of the Church contacts made though your offices, well, it should not surprise us, for in many instances there has been a systemic absence of support for the hard work, dedication and efforts made by many early Italians and Italian Americans to sustain their faith and devotion in America. Other ethnic groups have followed us with support galore by and from the Church, but one need only to review the history of the early Italians and the absolute neglect owing to language and culture. All that has occurred in the non-support of this movie is a carrying over of that mentality in my humble opinion. Therefore, let us support the movie now throughout the country and on social media. It is an important message that can be and is applicable to today’s world situation with regard to immigrants and the hardships they encounter, and will encounter for generations to come, just as Italian Americans did!
I became aware of Cabrini from an extensive article in the National Catholic Register, which gave the film a very positive review. The Catholic news channel EWTN also gave the movie a very positive review. For a while there were numerous YouTube videos that showed the trailer from the movie and included interviews of the director and producer, with some also including very touching comments made by Italian Americans concerning connections to Mother Cabrini that exist within their own families.
My wife and I have not as yet seen the movie and are waiting for it to become available on cable Pay-for-View. So many people who have been interviewed talk about the tremendous emotional impact the movie had on them, which made them cry as they watched it. How many other movies have had that kind of impact? I believe that, in time, Cabrini will be properly recognized as a classic. It may take a while though, as was true of the beloved Frank Capra movie It’s a Wonderful Life.
Perhaps it dates me but I recall the Ivory Soap Commercial , 100% pure–it floats, well nothing is 100%, and I didn’t realize all the implications of even this film of all things, to live up to all the political correction agendas “floating around!”
Reminds me of a Mexican “dicho” (saying) “Poor Mexico, so far from God, so close to the USA!”
Switching the wording around, the same holds true for Italy…..so,“Poor Italy, so far from God so close to the Vatican.”
The following article appeared in the NYT. “Cuomo unveils statue of Mother Cabrini”. If it were not for the governor there may never have been a statue to a great Italian woman!
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/arts/design/mother-cabrini-statue-unveiling.html
My sources confirm that Gov. Cuomo was the ‘prime mover’ in getting the project done – politically and financially.