The Mawlana movie, starring Amr Saad and written by journalist and media giant Ibrahim Eissa, garnered LE4.3 million in the second week of its screening in cinemas.
After its debut on January 4, Mawlana has continued to rank first in terms of revenues in cinemas, despite the piracy of the movie which is available in high quality on the internet.
Mawlana recounts the story of a celebrity Islamic preacher who faces pressures from the State that go against his personal principles and beliefs.
The movie costars Dorra, Reham Haggag, Ahmed Magdy and Bayoumy Fouad.
Actor Amr Saad said Mawlana movie has attracted audiences to the theaters; which is unusual for the winter season and has helped the film earn over LE3.5 million in a the first few days alone.
He added in an interview with CBC channel, that he is currently living the happiest days of his life due to the success of the movie, which has surpassed all expectations.
The film's director, Magdy Ahmed Ali, echoed Saad's sentiment, saying that the success of the movie has stemmed from the intriguing storyline, away from the usual attributes of popular Egyptian films, such as singing, comedy and action.
"What makes me happy is that audience was mostly young people," he added in a phone-in on CBC Sunday evening.
He praised Eissa for being flexible and for giving him space in the adaptation of the novel. He lauded Saad for taking lessons in the proper pronounciation of Quran (tajweed) in order to master the role of the sheikh.
On the other hand, Endowments Ministry preacher Mohamed Dahroug fiercely criticized the movie and called on the censorship authorities to seriously reconsider screening it.
Dahroug added: "Why do we focus on the negatives and on the violations committed by some preachers, when there are many other great examples?"
The movie's director Ali stressed that there are evil preachers as well as great preachers in reality. However, the movie is realistic and respectful in all its scenes, said Ali; adding that some people just want to criticize it, no matter what.
Certain preachers who attack the movie seek to monopolize the explanation of Islamic religious texts by sticking to bigoted interpretations, even though there are several accepted interpretations, Ali said.
