By David Germain
The Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Many Christians made The Passion of The Christ a part of their Easter weekend, lifting the crucifixion saga back to the top box-office spot with $17.1 million.

Mel Gibson's bloody retelling of Christ's final hours raised its domestic total since opening on Ash Wednesday to $354.8 million, passing The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers for the No. 8 spot on the all-time domestic charts, just behind Jurassic Park.

The Passion had been No. 1 its first three weekends, then fell back in the pack for the next three before claiming the top spot again.

"That's unprecedented. I've never seen that before. The Passion is just rewriting box-office history," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "This is a holy day, and this movie is tailor-made for a weekend like this. It's not just a movie. It's a religious experience for many people."

The Passion fended off a rush of new movies. Disney's costly historical epic The Alamo opened weakly with $9.2 million, tying for No. 3 with Cedric the Entertainer's comedy Johnson Family Vacation, according to studio estimates.

Other studios actually were tracking Johnson Family Vacation slightly ahead of The Alamo, which could finish in fourth place when final numbers come out today. Making comparisons worse, Johnson Family Vacation put up the same numbers while playing in only half as many theaters as The Alamo.

Disney faces a big loss on The Alamo, a chronicle of the 1830s last stand whose budget swelled to about $100 million.

Starring Billy Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett and Dennis Quaid as Sam Houston, The Alamo had been scheduled for release last December and caught bad headlines after Disney delayed it for four months to give director John Lee Hancock more time in the editing room. Hancock took over as director after Ron Howard backed out.

The Alamo drew mixed reviews, with some critics calling it a historical bore and others praising its authenticity and battle sequences.

"We're disappointed, mostly because we think we made a really good film," said Chuck Viane, Disney's head of distribution.

Top Ten

1. The Passion of the Christ, $17.1 million.

2. Hellboy, $11.1 million.

3 (tie). The Alamo and Johnson Family Vacation, $9.2 million.

5. Walking Tall, $8.3 million.

6. Home on the Range, $8.2 million.

7. Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed, $8 million.

8. The Whole Ten Yards, $6.7 million.

9. Ella Enchanted, $6.1 million.

10. The Girl Next Door, $6 million.