‘Gosnell,’ Film About Abortion Provider Who Murdered At Least Three Living Infants, Breaks Top 10 Box Office


Gosnell, a “true-crime drama” about abortion provider Kermit Gosnell, has cracked the top 10 at the box office, much to the delight of anti-abortion activists.

As The Daily Caller reports, the film – whose complete title is Gosnell: The Trial Of America’s Biggest Serial Killer – came in at No. 10 in weekend box office receipts, with total receipts of an estimated $1.235 million. By comparison, the big box-office winner this weekend was Venom, according to Box Office Mojo, which brought in an estimated $35.7 million.

That the obscure film, produced by two filmmakers who turned to crowdfunding to raise money for the film, made the top 10 at all is nothing short of miraculous, writes Daily Caller writer Kerry Picket, considering the barriers the filmmakers faced in getting publicity for the film.

For example, Facebook refused to allow the film to be promoted on its platform. National Public Radio (NPR) refused to even discuss it, purportedly because the film’s promotional material uses the words “abortionist” and “abortion doctor.” The book on which the movie was based was deliberately kept off of The New York Times Bestseller list, despite what Picket calls its “successful sales.” Even the judge in the Kermit Gosnell case sued to stop its release.

Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie’s critical reviews betray the deep, partisan divide that reviewers bring to the film. Positive reviews tend to come from obscure, conservative sources and/or pro-life blogs, while negative reviews come from larger publications such as The L.A. Times. For what it’s worth, the movie has a 99 percent score from viewers, and a 67 percent rating from critics.

The movie is a dramatization of the crimes and trial of Pennsylvania doctor Kermit Gosnell. Operating out of the Women’s Medical Society clinic in Philadelphia, Gosnell and his team performed hundreds of abortions, many of which were in violation of Pennsylvania’s 24-hour informed consent law.

Gosnell killed at least two infants, born during or after botched abortions, by severing their spinal cords; he may have killed as many as seven in this way. He was also implicated in the death of a patient, Karnamaya Mongar, who died following an abortion procedure.

In 2011, Gosnell and various co-defendants were charged with eight counts of murder; 24 felony counts of performing illegal abortions beyond the state of Pennsylvania’s 24-week time limit; and 227 misdemeanor counts of violating the 24-hour informed consent law. In May 2013, Gosnell was convicted of first-degree murder in the deaths of three of the infants and involuntary manslaughter in the death of the patient, as well as various other counts. He took a plea deal that allowed him to serve life in prison instead of the death penalty; he is currently behind bars serving three consecutive life sentences.

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