Mel Gibson's interpretation of Jesus' final days was hounded by outraged religious leaders, long before the film was even in the can.

The Jewish community in particular felt demonised, and objected to scenes in which the Jews demanded the crucifixion.

However, the most powerful form of marketing is word of mouth. So when the Jewish leaders started talking about the movie being 'toxic' and 'highly dangerous', they did little more than boost the box office take of a movie that would eventually become the 9th biggest grosser of all time.