committed to Groberg but lived her own life. Before beginning filming her parts of Heaven in New Zealand, she auditioned for The Princess Diaries. Filming The real John and Jean Groberg gave feedback on the script. Jean Groberg provided Davis with the letters she and John exchanged, and they were used in filming the scenes where John and Jean write to one another. The film was shot on location in Auckland, New Zealand and the island of Rarotonga, capital of the Cook Islands. All of the filming equipment and necessary supplies had to arrive by boat. The island scenes were completed in two months. In both Rarotonga and Auckland, rain often threatened to delay shoots, but Davis claimed that his prayers delayed much rain while filming. Release Disney produced, advertised, and distributed The Other Side of Heaven. Hathaway's The Princess Diaries was also released in 2001. The film opened theatrically on December 14, 2001, in two venues, earning $55,765 in its opening weekend, ranking number 41 in the domestic box office. By the end of its run, almost a year later, on December 2, 2002, the film grossed $4,720,371 domestically and $39,643 overseas for a worldwide total of $4,760,014. Critical reception The film received negative reviews from critics. Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 29% approval rating based on 42 reviews, with an average rating of 4.6 out of 10. The site's consensus states: "The Other Side of Heaven preaches to the converted; others will likely consider it simplistic, even offensive, propaganda." On Metacritic, the film has a 38 out of 100 rating based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews." Professor of literature Terryl Givens noted that the film doesn't mention Groberg's faith or explain why he is serving his mission. He speculates that this could be an effort to "universalize the message of Christian service and spiritual coming of age." Sequel In February 2018, Davis announced that filming was starting for a sequel titled The Other Side of Heaven 2: Fire of Faith. Gorham, Folau, Lees, and Smith reprised their roles from the first film. Natalie Medlock played Jean Groberg, replacing Hathaway. The movie was based on Groberg's second autobiographical novel, with the same title, set ten years after the first film. The story follows John returning to the island with his wife and five daughters during the period of time he served as an LDS Church