The accountants in Hollywood dont have to believe in heaven to notice the box office numbers on recent movies with religious themes. Heaven Is for Real opened in the days before Easter and grossed more than $22 million coming in second for the weekend just $3 million behind the latest Captain America blockbuster (in its third week). The movies per-screen average -- $8895 -- was far above the rest of the top five.
Heaven Is for Real like many movies is based on a best-selling book. Its a real-life story about 4-year-old Colton Burpo and his visions of heaven after an emergency surgery in 2003. Within three weeks of its November 2010 release the book debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times best-seller list. Eventually it made its way to No. 1.
Box Office Mojo reported Sony targeted their marketing towards Christian audiences and placed an emphasis on calling ahead for group ticket sales. Stop the presses. Breaking news. There is a Christian audience and it has wallets that open.
This has happened repeatedly this year.
It happened in mid-March when Gods Not Dead opened at No. 4 with a $9 million gross and then surprised the ticket-watchers by persistently drawing an audience as it now approaches $50 million at the box office. This comes despite film critics trashing it and one insisting Even by the rather lax standards of the Christian film industry Gods Not Dead is a disaster.
This was not a studio movie but a production of the Arizona-based Christian company Pure Flix. At the center of the plot is a debate between a college philosophy professor and a freshman student over the existence of God. No its not your usual popcorn fare but there is an audience that surely enjoys the rare occasion of a script strongly striking back at Richard Dawkins and Charles Darwin offering rebuttal to the usual atheist arrogance of most pop culture products. Interestingly there is also this: In the corners of the plot are several Christian product placements -- appearances testifying to Jesus by Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson and the Christian-rock band the Newsboys. Jesus sells.
One can easily see how the word of mouth spreads on a movie like this when all the people attending the Newsboys concert at the movies end are asked to text message Gods not dead to their friends and acquaintances.
Son of God was produced by adding some new footage and re-editing the Jesus sections of Mark Burnetts History Channel miniseries The Bible. It was released in mid-February and also showed surprising strength grossing $25 million in its first weekend and a total of $60 million so far. And why not? The Bible has become the top-selling miniseries on DVD of all time.
Some have compared these numbers to Noah which hasnt lived up to expectations -- especially after the endless hype. But theres a reason it disappointed. Despite the movies putative inspiration in the Bible Noah isnt a religious movie. The leftist critics were kind but critics at the conservative Intercollegiate Review panned it as The Rocky Horror Bible Show comparing its Noah to a man-hating eco-maniacal unabomber and its story as Genesis rewritten by Cher. It should tell us something that another big-money Russell Crowe movie Gladiator had a nobler view of God and man.
Just as theres always an audience for a horror movie and theres always an audience for a romantic comedy there is always an audience for faith-friendly films. Theater owners have been learning that lesson all year. Will the Hollywood studios ever catch on?
Brent Bozell is founder and President of the Media Research Center runs the largest media watchdog organization in America.
The accountants in Hollywood dont have to believe in heaven to notice the box office numbers on recent movies with religious themes. Heaven Is for Real opened in the days before Easter and grossed more than $22 million coming in second for the weekend just $3 million behind the latest Captain America blockbuster (in its third week). The movies per-screen average -- $8895 -- was far above the rest of the top five.
Heaven Is for Real like many movies is based on a best-selling book. Its a real-life story about 4-year-old Colton Burpo and his visions of heaven after an emergency surgery in 2003. Within three weeks of its November 2010 release the book debuted at No. 3 on the New York Times best-seller list. Eventually it made its way to No. 1.
Box Office Mojo reported Sony targeted their marketing towards Christian audiences and placed an emphasis on calling ahead for group ticket sales. Stop the presses. Breaking news. There is a Christian audience and it has wallets that open.
This has happened repeatedly this year.
It happened in mid-March when Gods Not Dead opened at No. 4 with a $9 million gross and then surprised the ticket-watchers by persistently drawing an audience as it now approaches $50 million at the box office. This comes despite film critics trashing it and one insisting Even by the rather lax standards of the Christian film industry Gods Not Dead is a disaster.
This was not a studio movie but a production of the Arizona-based Christian company Pure Flix. At the center of the plot is a debate between a college philosophy professor and a freshman student over the existence of God. No its not your usual popcorn fare but there is an audience that surely enjoys the rare occasion of a script strongly striking back at Richard Dawkins and Charles Darwin offering rebuttal to the usual atheist arrogance of most pop culture products. Interestingly there is also this: In the corners of the plot are several Christian product placements -- appearances testifying to Jesus by Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson and the Christian-rock band the Newsboys. Jesus sells.
One can easily see how the word of mouth spreads on a movie like this when all the people attending the Newsboys concert at the movies end are asked to text message Gods not dead to their friends and acquaintances.
Son of God was produced by adding some new footage and re-editing the Jesus sections of Mark Burnetts History Channel miniseries The Bible. It was released in mid-February and also showed surprising strength grossing $25 million in its first weekend and a total of $60 million so far. And why not? The Bible has become the top-selling miniseries on DVD of all time.
Some have compared these numbers to Noah which hasnt lived up to expectations -- especially after the endless hype. But theres a reason it disappointed. Despite the movies putative inspiration in the Bible Noah isnt a religious movie. The leftist critics were kind but critics at the conservative Intercollegiate Review panned it as The Rocky Horror Bible Show comparing its Noah to a man-hating eco-maniacal unabomber and its story as Genesis rewritten by Cher. It should tell us something that another big-money Russell Crowe movie Gladiator had a nobler view of God and man.
Just as theres always an audience for a horror movie and theres always an audience for a romantic comedy there is always an audience for faith-friendly films. Theater owners have been learning that lesson all year. Will the Hollywood studios ever catch on?
Brent Bozell is founder and President of the Media Research Center runs the largest media watchdog organization in America.
