2014: The Year For Religious Movies
When it comes to faith-based movies
at the box office, “Heaven Is for Real” is the latest to show that smaller may
be better, at least in terms of return on investment.
The drama, based on the 2010
best-selling Christian book written by Kansas pastor Todd Burpo and
conservative author Lynn Vincent, scored an Easter weekend surprise with its
strong $21.5 million three-day haul, and has taken in more than $28 million
since opening on Wednesday.
That's a major score for Sony and
producers Joe Roth and pastor Thomas “T.D.” Jakes, who produced “Heaven Is for
Real” for $12 million and more than doubled that in its first week at the box
office. Directed by Randall Wallace (“Braveheart”), the film stars Greg Kinnear
as a small-town pastor whose son claims to have seen heaven after a near-death
experience. Kelly Reilly, Thomas Hayden Church and newcomer Connor Corum
co-star.
“The Christian and faith-based market has been under-served for years,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Rentrak. “There's clearly an appetite for movies that speak to the audience, and this year has proven that.”
John 4:13-14
Jesus replied, "People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether. It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life."
It's the year's fourth faith-based movie to connect with moviegoers, coming on the heels of Paramount's Darren Aronofsky-directed faith-based Biblical epic “Noah,” the low-budget indie drama “God's Not Dead” and Mark Burnett's “Son of God.”
“God's Not Dead” is the story of a college student trying to sway his skeptical professor, with a cast that includes TV stars Kevin Sorbo, Shane Harper and Willie Robertson of “Duck Dynasty.” The critics hated it, but the film found its Christian niche, thanks to a cleverly targeted social media campaign.
Pure Flix Entertainment's “God's Not Dead” cost just $5 million to make and has taken in nearly $47 million since opening five weeks ago for distributor Freestyle Releasing. The critics weren't keen on the drama (13 percent positive on Rotten Tomatoes), but that didn't stop the film's momentum with its core audience.
“Son of God” may be an even bigger bargain. Converting the TV miniseries “The Bible,” from Burnett and wife Roma Downey, for the big screen cost less than $10 million. So far it's brought in $60 million domestically and is rolling out overseas as well.
“Noah,” the effects-laden epic starring Russell Crowe, brought in $5 million over the weekend to up its domestic total after a month in release to $93.2 million. It's taken in more than $197 million abroad, and has a worldwide total of more than $255 million. But its production budget was $125 million, and Paramount mounted a major marketing campaign behind it, so it's still not in the black.
Fox will test the holy waters with a big-budget religious epic in December, when it rolls out director Ridley Scott's “Exodus,” starring Christian Bale as Moses.
sources: https://movies.yahoo.com/news/heaven-real-rides-faith-based-wave-big-easter-161300932.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMjo5f9eiX8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcIXCok9HPg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsXtslcXJFg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8BzzUdzUn0
tags: Bible, prophecy, Heaven, God, Jesus, Son of God, Noah, Exodus, Moses
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