It’s been very, very quiet last two weeks at the theatrical box office, and that’s let one surprising film onto the charts:
I should clarify that it’s only “surprising” for some of the country. Many people haven’t heard of The Chosen — it’s a faith-based (Christian) TV series that releases some of its episodes into theaters, along with musical specials around the holidays — and it has a devoted fanbase willing to go see it in theaters. Based on the success of its Sound of Freedom last year, its upcoming theatrical release Cabrini from the same director (about a nun who helps immigrant orphans), and the news that Amazon is making a play for Christian content as well, it really does feel like religious, specifically Christian, films and TV shows are having a moment. [Note: A previous version of this article referred to Angel Studios as a current producer of The Chosen. The Chosen is independently produced and Angel Studios distributed and provided crowd-funding support for the first season.]
That makes it time for another round of the question I love to ask: Does the hype match the reality?
In this article I will…
Show the upside for faith-based Christian films, and look at how many Americans practice Christianity and how deeply-felt the beliefs are.
Reveal the historic performance of faith-based projects.
Tell you how Angel Studios figured out the crowd-funding model in a whole new way that made it work…
…but why Christian films always seem to have a moment every 10 years or so.
My recommendations for how to understand the hype and make it work for you and your company.
Don’t stop here
Unlock the full story — and the no-spin reporting Hollywood trusts
Already a subscriber?
