Wikipedia

Christian film industry

TheChristian film industryis an aspect ofChristian mediaforfilmscontaining aChristian-themed message or moral. They are ofteninterdenominationalfilms, but can also be films targeting a specificdenominationof Christianity.

Criteria

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Popular mainstream studio productions of films with strong Christian messages orBiblicalstories, such asBen-Hur,The Ten Commandments,The Prince of Egypt,The Robe,Sergeant York,The Blind Side,The Book of Eli,[1]Machine Gun Preacher,Risen,Hacksaw Ridge,andSilence,are not specifically part of the Christian film industry, being moreagnosticabout their audiences' religious beliefs. These films generally also have a much higher budget, production values and better knownfilm stars,and are received more favourably withfilm critics.

Many films from the Christian film industry are produced by openly confessingChristiansin independent companies mainly targeting a Christian audience. This has been on the rise since the success ofSherwood PictureswhoseFireproofwas the highest grossingindependent filmof 2008.[2]

History

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Beginnings

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Magic lantern at theWymondhamMuseum.

Catholic priestAthanasius Kircherpromoted themagic lanternby publishing the bookArs Magna Lucis et Umbraein 1680.[3]Controversy soon followed aspriestsandmasonsused the lanterns "to persuade followers of their ability to control both the forces of darkness and enlightenment" and temperance groups used the lanterns to fightalcoholism.[4]In the 1800s,missionariessuch asDavid Livingstoneused the lanterns to present theGospelinAfrica.[5]

Through the years, many Christians began to utilize motion picture for their own purposes.[6]In 1899,Herbert Booth,as part of theSalvation Army,claimed to be the first user of film for the cause of Christianity.[6]

20th century

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In the 1940s, Christian film libraries emerged. Harvey W. Marks started the Visual Aid Center in 1945. Circa 1968, Harry Bristow launched Christian Cinema in a smalltheaterin theGermantownarea ofPhiladelphia,and in the early 1970s, the ministry moved to a theater inAmbler, Pennsylvania.Christian Cinema operated a movie theater that showed only Christian films, but closed down in the mid-1990s. The growth of Christian film libraries led to the Christian Film Distributors Association (CFDA) being formed in 1974. The CFDA began holding a conference each year for Christianfilmmakersanddistributors.The Christian Film and Video Association (formerly the Christian Film Distribution Association) gave out Crown Awards for films that "glorifyJesus Christ."[7]

Spencer Williams's 1941race filmThe Blood of Jesuswas screened in cinemas and in black churches.[8]The film was produced inTexason a budget of US$5,000. To present the afterlife, Williams used scenes from a 1911Italianfilm calledL'Infernothat depicted souls entering Heaven and in addition to Williams, the cast was made up of amateur actors and members of Reverend R. L. Robinson's Heavenly Choir, who sang the film's gospel music score.[8]The film's commercial success enabled Williams to direct and write additional feature films for Sack Amusement Enterprises, including two films with religious themes:Brother Martin: Servant of Jesus(1942; now considered alost film[9][10]) andGo Down Death(1944).[11]

The 1971Christsploitation filmIf Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?was based on a sermon byEstus Pirkleheld on January 31, 1968 at Camp Zion inMyrtlewith the title "If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?". The sermon was made available by print, and Estus W. Pirkle joined with filmmakerRon Ormondin their first collaboration, and converted the sermon into a film. The pair made a number of other films together (each being 1974'sThe Burning Helland 1977'sThe Believer's Heaven), but this first film is the team's most well-known. The film became widely distributed among churches and church camps in the 1970s.[12][13]

Movie theaters and film festivals

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SinceThe Great Commandmentopened in movie theaters in 1941, many Christian filmmakers have attempted to pursue theatrical releases. World Wide Pictures was a pioneer in partnering with churches to bring Christian films to the cinema. Gateway Films (nowGateway Films/Vision Video) was "formed with the express purpose of communicating the Christian Gospel in the secular motion picture theaters" and releasedThe Cross and the Switchbladein 1972. In 1979, theJesusfilm appeared in theaters across the United States. This film, based on theGospel of Luke,was made for $6 million byCampus Crusade for Christ.[14]

In 1993, Tom Saab launched theMerrimack Valley Christian Film FestivalinSalem, New Hampshire.Each year this festival is held duringEasterweek and draws an audience of thousands to a theater to watch Christian films for free. Saab's organization Christian Film Festivals ofAmericahas also presented film festivals inSalinas, CaliforniaandOrlando, Florida.In October 1999, the Voice of Pentecost Church inSan Franciscohosted the 1st AnnualWYSIWYG Film Festival.Other Christian film festivals includeSan Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival,168 Hour Film Project,and the Redemptive Film Festival.

Recent years

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ChristianCinemais a website that lists movies related to Christianity.

Many Christian films have been released to theaters since that time, such asThe Omega Code(1999),Megiddo: The Omega Code 2(2001),Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie(2002),Facing the Giants(2006),The Ultimate Gift(2007),Amazing Grace(2007), the CGI animated version ofThe Ten Commandments(2007),[15]Fireproof(2008),The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry(2009),To Save a Life(2010),Preacher's Kid(2010),Letters to God(2010),What If...(2010),The Grace Card(2011),Courageous(2011),October Baby(2012),Last Ounce of Courage(2012),Home Run(2013),Grace Unplugged(2013),I'm in Love with a Church Girl(2013),Son of God(2014),God's Not Dead(2014),Persecuted(2014),Old Fashioned(2015),Do You Believe?(2015),War Room(2015),Beyond the Mask(2015),I'm Not Ashamed(2016),I Can Only Imagine(2018),Breakthrough(2019), andOvercomer(2019).

In 2006, nearly 50 Christian-faith films were produced. The films grossed an average $39 million. All five of the major Hollywood studios have created marketing departments to target the growing demand for faith-based and family fare.MovieguidepublisherTed Baehrsaid, "There is competition for the Christian audience now that there hasn't been before. I thought at some point it would level off, but so far it's getting bigger and bigger. It's more than I could have possibly imagined. One of the audiences that has become stable and even grown forbooks,musicand movies is the Christian audience. "[16]

The proliferation of Christian movies and Christian films has led to the establishment of manyonline retailersthat focus their business exclusively on the sale and distribution of Christian movies online and family-friendly films such as Parables.tv,Exploration Filmsbased in Monument, Colorado, FishFlix,ChristianCinemaand ChristianMovies.Parables TValso providesstreamingandlinear TV.In 2013, FishFlix opened the first ever DVD store devoted completely to Christian DVDs inTulsa, Oklahoma.[17]

The 2014 filmGod's Not Deadis one of the all-time most successfulindependentChristian films[18]and the 2015 filmWar Roombecame abox office number-one film.[19]

List of highest-grossing Christian films

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Following is a list of highest-grossing Christian films of 2004–present, including only those films with overt Christian themes explicitly promotingThe Gospelor an otherwise Christian message and targeted primarily atEvangelical Christianaudiences. Grosses presented here are worldwidebox officereceipts.

Top 10 highest-grossing Christian films
Rank Title Distributor Worldwide Box Office Domestic Opening Weekend Year References
1 The Passion of the Christ Icon Productions $622.3 million $83.8 million 2004 [20]
2 Heaven Is for Real Sony Pictures $101.3 million $22.5 million 2014 [21]
3 The Shack Lionsgate $96.9 million $16.2 million 2017 [22]
4 I Can Only Imagine Roadside Attractions $86 million $17.1 million 2018 [23]
5 War Room Sony Pictures $74 million $11.4 million 2015 [24]
6 Miracles from Heaven Sony Pictures $73.9 million $14.8 million 2016 [25]
7 Son of God Twentieth Century Fox $70.95 million $25.6 million 2014 [26]
8 God's Not Dead Freestyle Releasing $64.7 million $9.2 million 2014 [27]
9 The Star Sony Pictures $62.8 million $9.8 million 2017 [28]
10 Jesus Revolution Lionsgate $54.3 million $15.8 million 2023 [29]

Christian film in Africa

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South Africa

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Faith-based, family-values films are popular inSouth Africadue to its predominantly Christian audience includingFaith Like Potatoes,a 2006biopicoffarmer-turned-preacher[30]Angus Buchan.[31]

Nigeria

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NigerianChristians are actively contributing to the booming Nigerian film industry known asNollywood.Christian films makes up about 20% ofNigerian films.Independent companies, ministries, and large churches producing hundreds of Christian films often see themselves as an alternative to Nollywood. Nevertheless, they have participated in mainstream success and many of the films appear onstate television channels.[32]

TheRedeemed Christian Church of Godfounded Dove Studios, which has become the country's biggest movie studio and distributor.[33]More than 50,000 copies of their movies were sold before April 2006.[34]The Gospel Film Festival (GOFESTIVAL) is also a major Nigerian film attraction.[35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Chen, Sandie Angulo (January 15, 2010)."Will Christian Audiences Embrace Denzel's 'Book of Eli'?".Moviefone.Archived fromthe originalon July 2, 2010.RetrievedJanuary 15,2010.
  2. ^Buss, Dale (January 21, 2009)."What Christians Watch".The Wall Street Journal.Archivedfrom the original on 22 June 2015.RetrievedApril 6,2009.
  3. ^Vermier, Koen (25 May 2005)."The magic of the magic lantern (1660–1700): on analogical demonstration and the visualization of the invisible".The British Journal for the History of Science.38(2).Cambridge University Press:127–159.doi:10.1017/s0007087405006709.ISSN0007-0874.S2CID143404000.
  4. ^Herlihy, Patricia (12 December 2002).The Alcoholic Empire: Vodka & Politics in Late Imperial Russia.Oxford:Oxford University Press.pp.20.ISBN0-19-513431-1.OCLC47140987.alcoholism magic
  5. ^Horne, Silvester C. (May 5, 2006).David Livingstone.Kessinger Publishing.p. 76.ISBN1-4254-9628-8.
  6. ^abLindvall, Terry (2007).Sanctuary Cinema: Origins of the Christian Film Industry.New York:New York University Press.pp. 56–57.ISBN978-0-8147-5323-1.OCLC794701134.
  7. ^Kintz, Linda; Lesage, Julia (April 1998).Media, Culture, and the Religious Right.Minneapolis:University of Minnesota Press.pp.194.ISBN0-8166-3084-4.OCLC37947297.
  8. ^ab""Micheaux and Williams: Titans of 'Race' Cinema," Village Voice, March 18, 2008 ".Archived fromthe originalon October 23, 2008.RetrievedNovember 18,2008.
  9. ^Archival Treasures: Spencer Williams' "Brother Martin" Trailer|UCLA Film & Television Archive
  10. ^Hall, Phil."Film Threat's Top 10 Lost Films, Part Five".Film Threat. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-06-07.
  11. ^"Spencer Williams," AfricanAmericansArchived2009-01-01 at theWayback Machine
  12. ^Brannock, Jennifer:"Item of the Month - If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?"-University of Southern Mississippi,November 2011
  13. ^Stadtman, Todd:"IF FOOTMEN TIRE YOU, WHAT WILL HORSES DO?"-TELEPORT CITY festivities revels & nocturnal dalliances
  14. ^Foer, Franklin (February 8, 2004)."Baptism by Celluloid".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 29 June 2019.RetrievedNovember 21,2009.
  15. ^MOVIE REVIEW: The Ten Commandments|CBN
  16. ^"Hollywood makes room for holiness".The New York Times.Los Angeles. March 8, 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 10 September 2009.RetrievedNovember 13,2009.
  17. ^Sherman, Bill (November 23, 2013)."Tulsa physician with roots in Turkey sells Christian movies".Tulsa World.Archivedfrom the original on 9 December 2019.RetrievedNovember 13,2009.
  18. ^Law, Jeannie (16 December 2016)."'God's Not Dead 3' Is in the Works, Says Actor-Producer David AR White (Interview) ".The Christian Post(Interview).Archivedfrom the original on 17 December 2016.
  19. ^Simanton, Keith (2015-09-06).Weekend Report - 'War Room' Walks to #1.Box Office Mojo(Report).Archivedfrom the original on 30 June 2020.Retrieved2015-09-06.
  20. ^"The Passion of the Christ (2004) - Financial Information".The Numbers.Archivedfrom the original on 23 October 2020.Retrieved2 January2020.
  21. ^"Heaven Is For Real".Box Office Mojo.Archivedfrom the original on 23 November 2020.Retrieved2 January2020.
  22. ^"The Shack".Box Office Mojo.Archivedfrom the original on 21 December 2019.Retrieved2 January2020.
  23. ^"I Can Only Imagine".Box Office Mojo.Archivedfrom the original on 28 October 2020.Retrieved2 January2020.
  24. ^"War Room (2015) - Financial Information".The Numbers.Archivedfrom the original on 11 January 2021.Retrieved2 January2020.
  25. ^"Miracles from Heaven".Box Office Mojo.Archivedfrom the original on 25 April 2020.Retrieved2 January2020.
  26. ^"Son of God (2014) - Financial Information".The Numbers.Archivedfrom the original on 3 November 2020.Retrieved2 January2020.
  27. ^"God's Not Dead".Box Office Mojo.Archivedfrom the original on 19 December 2019.Retrieved2 January2020.
  28. ^"The Star".Box Office Mojo.Archivedfrom the original on 3 January 2020.Retrieved2 January2020.
  29. ^"Jesus Revolution".Box Office Mojo.April 23, 2023.Retrieved8 November2024.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  30. ^Faith Like Potatoes - TV Guide
  31. ^Faith Like Potatoes|Christianity Today
  32. ^Zylstra, Sarah Eekhoff (27 October 2009)."Nigeria: Christian Movie Capital of the World".Christianity Today.Archivedfrom the original on 29 October 2009.Retrieved30 October2009.
  33. ^"Nigerian church transforms into movie mogul".CBC News.26 March 2006.Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2017.Retrieved30 October2009.
  34. ^Murphy, Brian (25 March 2006)."Redeemed Church Takes Nollywood by Storm".World-Wide Religious News.Lagos, Nigeria.Archivedfrom the original on 4 April 2012.Retrieved11 January2021.
  35. ^Stephen, Alayande (21 April 2009)."A Celebration of Gospel Cinematic Excellence".Modern Ghana.Archived fromthe originalon 27 January 2016.Retrieved30 October2009.

Further reading

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