Eugenio Derbez continued work in the faith genre with his latest film "Miracles From Heaven," which opens this week with positive reviews and high expectations at the box office.

Derbez Breaks Out

Not too long ago, Derbez broke out with his box office hit "Instruction Not Included," and he went on to gain international fame. His movie grossed $44 million, making it one of the highest grossing foreign films ever.

Derbez's initial success still has yet to be replicated, despite efforts by companies like Pantelion. "Instructions Not Included" was a family oriented film that in many ways used elements of faith, building on universal themes of strength and bonding that many films lack nowadays.

However, since that film, Derbez has not been in a film except for the animated "The Book of Life."

This week Derbez returns to cinemas with something similar to his breakout hit. But this time he is not headlining, and the film is not in Spanish. Still, he is reuniting with Patricia Riggen, director on his movies "Girl in Progress" and "Under the Same Moon," and "Miracles From Heaven" has been highly promoted in the Spanish market. So the question most ask is: How will the film be received by the public?

First Reviews Are Positive

Faith based films have often been negatively reviewed, as they seem to always be lecturing to the crowd. There is rarely subtly in these works. However, "Miracle From Heaven" seems to be bucking that trend, receiving positive early notes from critics. Derbez has been scoring some complements for his comic timing in particular. Riggen has also been scoring great reviews for creating vivid characters out of the script.

It will be interesting to see if the film ends up with mostly favorable reviews. Riggen's latest films, "Girl in Progress" and "The 33," were both given terrible reviews. Her debut, "Under the Same moon," did well.

Derbez himself has been in many well received projects, such as "The Book of Life." Yet, his last three films have received mixed to negative reviews. So could this film really revive the success of "Instructions Not Included"?

Box Office Expectation

Box office expectations seem very positive, especially since "Miracles From Heaven" comes out during Palm Sunday weekend and near other spring holidays. Currently the movie is expected to open with $17 million is predicted, and the take could climb higher depending on word of mouth. The film is geared toward religious communities, but Derbez's presence in the film is likely to appeal to Hispanic audiences in general.

Derbez has been prominent in the Latino community for years. His shows and soap opera have been among the top rated programs in Mexico, so his popularity is important to keep in mind.

The movie also plays off the themes of "Instructions Not Included." Promotions by Derbez and Tristar have taken advantage of the similarities to attract the Latino audience. If the movie has a high gross, then it will prove that Derbez is a big selling point to the Latino community and will raise his profile in Hollywood.

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