‘Soul Surfer’ Coming to DVD

Soul Surfer, the biopic telling of teen Bethany Hamilton’s
remarkable return to surfing after losing an arm in a shark attack, is
to release on DVD Aug. 2.

The 106-minute, PG-rated drama features AnnaSophia Robb as Hamilton
with Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt as her parents. With singer Carrie
Underwood making her acting debut in the film, Soul Surfer was
heavily promoted to the faith-based community on its theatrical release
and saw a positive response, said Dave Mechem, sales manager for Affirm
Films/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

“The biggest thing we were
excited about was the CinemaScore rating,” he said. “It was an A-plus,
the first film to get that this year.” With a production budget of $18
million, the film took twice that at the box office within a month of
release.

The DVD will come with extras that include The Heart of a Soul Surfer documentary,
which tells the true story of Hamilton’s experience and features
interviews with her family. In addition, Soul Sisters looks at the
friendship that developed between Hamilton and Robb, while two other
featurettes look at how the surfing scenes were filmed.

Mechem
said that promotional campaigns were being finalized that would see the
DVD release being supported in Christian chains with displays also
featuring related book releases, like Raising a Soul Surfer by
Cheri Hamilton and Rick Bundschuh (Regal Books). Provident-Integrity
Distribution will distribute the DVD to Christian stores.