‘Left Behind’ movie to be seen in churches

Coming soon to a church near you: Hollywood.

Producers of the “Left Behind” movie series plan to screen “Left Behind: World at War” in 3,000 churches in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, bypassing theater chains before Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases it Tuesday on DVD.

The church-focused marketing campaign is reminiscent of the pamphleting and advance-sale tickets that preceded the theatrical release of the Trinity Broadcasting Network-funded “The Omega Code” six years ago.

The new film, third in the series based on the bestselling Christian post-Armageddon novels by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins, is available to churches for a licensing fee ranging from $69 to $200, based on the size of the congregation, said publicist Michael Saltzman. He said some are charging admission as a fundraiser for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

The “Left Behind” novels and movies envision the lives of the unfaithful left behind at the time of the Rapture -- when some Christians believe the faithful will ascend bodily to heaven -- and their struggle against evil.

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Scott Martelle