Thousands fill theaters for 'Passion' opening

PLANO, Texas -- Even before sunrise, believers and nonbelievers alike poured into movie theaters around the nation on Ash Wednesday for the opening of Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ."\nAn estimated 6,000 people filled all 20 auditoriums at a Cinemark theater in this Dallas suburb to watch the film. All the tickets had been bought and donated by a local churchgoer.\n"I hope everybody sees it with an open mind," said Rick Pierce, 53, a Baptist who sipped coffee and chewed on a breakfast burrito at the theater before the first showing.\nHe said he was in tears during the film.\n"It's the kind of crying knowing that somebody would do something for me, even though I didn't deserve it. It's the greatest love story there is," he said.\nMore than 100 people watched the midnight showing of "The Passion" at the ArcLight Cinemas in Los Angeles.\n"I'm in shock. I'm physically weak. I'm emotional," said Joseph Camerieri, a 39-year-old paralegal student from Los Angeles who was trying to hold back tears after seeing the film.\n"I think if you're a Christian it will increase your faith tenfold in what Christ has done for you. If you're not a Christian, you'll probably treat others with more love"