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."

An 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.

"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.

Elsewhere across the nation, some couldn't wait for morning screenings. More than 100 people watched the midnight showing of "The Passion" at the ArcLight Cinemas in Los Angeles.