Why Christians Now Rule Hollywood

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When last weekend’s box office numbers were revealed one superstar came out on top. It wasn’t Denzel Washington, Robert Downey, Jr. or any of the other usual names from Hollywood’s A-list. In fact, this A-lister did not even appear in any film credits at all, but may have just become Hollywood’s hottest commodity. The new power player: God, or more specifically God and his many Christian followers. For the first time, two Christian themed films appeared in two of the top box office slots.

Russell Crowe’s Noah, inspired by the Bible story, was number one raking in a hefty $44 million. It’s box office dominance inspired a flood (no pun intended) of pun-ny headlines, among them “Noah Floats, Sabotage Drowns” from Forbes. But what’s more shocking to Hollywood insiders is the appearance of God’s Not Dead on the box office power list.

But the two movies are not the only ones establishing Christian themed films, and the people who see them, as a major Hollywood force to be reckoned with. Last month, Son of God surpassed box office expectations. Heaven is for Real, a film based on the bestselling book, will soon be released, and expectations are high.

“It feels like we’re in a special moment that has never happened before in Hollywood where you have this many faith-based movies being released by not just independent filmmakers but now the big studios,” said Paul Lauer, founder and CEO of Motive Entertainment, the leading film marketing firm for reaching Christian audiences. “This Holy Week there will be four major feature films in theaters at the same time and that’s unprecedented.”

Asked if the success of Noah and God’s Not Dead this week officially answers the question of whether there is a strong market for Christian themed Hollywood fare, Scott Shuford had this to say. “There isn’t any question whether there is a market. The question [to Hollywood] is do you want to be a part of it?

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