Faith-Based Films and TV: The Next Big Thing?
What data says as Amazon moves into the genre
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.