Have You Noticed? Is Hollywood Really Beginning to Embrace "God Movies?"

Aimee Herd-Commentary : Apr 22, 2014
Ryan Duncan – Crosswalk.com

"Since its release, 'Heaven is for Real' has garnered an impressive $21.5 million—nearly double of what Depp's 'Transcendence' earned the same weekend."

Maybe it's just my own perception, but it seems like Christian movies have been getting better… and Hollywood appears to be taking notice.

Not to knock them, but who can forget the low-budget rapture-oriented movies of the '70s, whose apocalyptic themes either scared the viewer into a sinner's prayer, or were chalked-up to the "B-movie" category.

It seems to me Believers have been trying for some time to access the medium of film to communicate the reality of God, and a relationship with Jesus Christ. And somehow lately, partly due to greater availability of technology; their screenwriting, their acting, and the quality of the finished movies just seem to be improving.

But it's really only recently that Hollywood seems to be realizing that movies with Biblical themes and values really are desired by many, and in comparison, is a relatively untapped audience.

In a Crosswalk.com article published Tuesday, Ryan Duncan notes the success of "Heaven is for Real," which reportedly surged to claim the #3 spot on its opening weekend, beating out Johnny Depp's thriller, "Transcendence."

"Since its release, 'Heaven is for Real' has garnered an impressive $21.5 million—nearly double of what Depp's 'Transcendence' earned the same weekend," writes Duncan.

"Ah ha!" You might say; pointing to money as the source of any interest Hollywood may have in faith-based movies.

And you'd be correct, for the most part. Let's face it. Hollywood's "box office scores mentality" will always look for the lucrative aspect.

But let me remind you of the Apostle Paul's words in Philippians 1, "Some indeed preach Christ even from envy and strife, and some also from goodwill: The former preach Christ from selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my chains; but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the Gospel. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached; and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice."

I rejoice too, when I look at the amount of pretty good to excellent Christian movies that have made it, or will make it to the big screen this year!

When I looked at 2013 and the amount of faith-based movies, it was difficult finding even a few—"Grace Unplugged" perhaps the biggest—and most of them I never did see any advertising for.

Compare that to 2014, which began with "Son of God" in February, then "God's Not Dead," "Noah" (Yes I already know that it wasn't Scripturally accurate, but I didn't expect that from a director who is a self-described atheist-it DID, however, prompt an unprecidented internet search of the real story in the Bible), and most recently, "Heaven is for Real."

Still to come in theaters in 2014 are the following movies that are either Biblically themed, or have an aspect of being Christian faith-based:

"Irreplaceable," "Always With You," "Mom's Night Out," "Return to the Hiding Place," and those are just some of the ones coming in May... this year may just see more Christian and faith-based movies in theaters than any other year.

Bottom line: God can use any avenue He desires to help bring about His purposes. And if the general population won't step inside a church, but they will frequent movie theaters, it certainly makes sense that He would use Hollywood's silver screen to communicate His message of love.