HOLLYWOOD -- Preparing for an audience that doesn't typically attend films, chains are carefully deciding which trailers they will show before "The Passion of the Christ," when it opens Wednesday.

Some chains, such as AMC, will show previews for family fare; others, including the nation's largest chain Regal Entertainment Group, will not be showing trailers at all.

The crux of the problem for studios and exhibs that while "Passion" is rated R for its graphic violence, a large segment of the audience expected to show up will be church groups.

So, while exhibs do not want to offend the conservative aud with trailers for racy R-rated titles, some studios are uncomfortable with promoting their family pics ahead of the gory epic.

MGM had originally sought to get exhibs to run its trailer for "Walking Tall," an actioner about a menacing county sheriff, played by wrestler-actor the Rock, who wields justice in the form of a two-by-four. Pic will likely be rated PG-13 when it opens April 9.

That trailer won't run, but MGM found exhibs more willing to play a trailer for PG-rated "Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London," in which Frankie Muniz reprises his role as a high school-aged spy, due out March 12.

Rick King, a senior veep at AMC, would not say which trailers it will play before "Passion," but he said the titles include family comedies and animated pics. "We will program features that that audience is not likely to find offensive." He added, however, "they are not necessarily going to be programmed by rating."

Some studios, however, have asked that their family pics not be promoted with "Passion."

"The people who are going to see a family film are not the same audience that goes to see a violent religious film," said one studio exec. "We wouldn't be able to put a trailer up for G stuff in front of an R-rated movie."

Regal senior veep Dick Westerling said it was concern about offending religious auds that led it to scrap trailers before "Passion."

"Quite a few of the people who are coming to the film are not your traditional film audience. Due to the nature of the film and the audience mix, we have decided not to run trailers," Westerling said. "We've heard feedback from people who are coming to the film and have purchased tickets through group sales that they are concerned about content of some of the traditional movie trailers."