Survey Shows What Fans of Faith-Based Cinema Are Missing
The success of 2023’s “Sound of Freedom,” whose $184 million domestic haul landed the Angel Studios thriller in the year’s top 10 box office, highlighted how faith-based films had the potential to step in and fill gaps still present among major studio slates.
But exclusive survey data provided to VIP+ by the National Research Group indicates Christians are seeking lighter fare more than any other.
Family cinema is by far the preferred genre, with 64% of Christians who watch faith-based content wanting more of it across the board.
But when you isolate those under 35, comedy shoots to the top and is a smidge more desired than family fare as well as outright biblical tales.
Likewise, NRG’s data shows why that stat can’t be ignored.
Millennial and Gen Z viewers are the ones who appear to be propping up the faith-based market, with two-thirds of millennial Christians saying they watch such films and series at least once per month.
As much as “Sound of Freedom” resonated as a surprise success, it’s clear younger generations’ preference for something light and funny isn’t being met.
Angel Studios’ slew of films in the wake of “Sound of Freedom” have mainly tackled biopics and inspirational stories, none of which passed $20 million in the U.S. Despite the strong entrance into theatrical last year, Angel clearly hasn’t upended Sony Pictures and Lionsgate’s continued focus on the space, with all three sitting as peers together.
Sony’s “The Forge,” from sub-label Affirm Films, remains the top faith-based film at the box office in 2024, having benefited from a late August release when major-studio output was low. Angel Studios went in a bolder direction, timing most of its slate this year for holiday weekends, a strategy that this week’s dystopian doomsday thriller “Homestead” is capping as it bows alongside heavy franchise hitters like “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.”
To its credit, Angel Studios has already moved 2025 hopeful “David” out of its Thanksgiving holiday slot, per Comscore. The animated biblical tale would have gone up against Universal’s “Wicked: For Good” installment, as historical thriller “Bonhoeffer” was largely overshadowed by “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” last month, topping out at just under $12 million.
Compare that with 2023’s “The Blind,” a biopic for enigmatic “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson that made a bit over $17 million through a Fathom Events run, and it becomes evident that history may be too trodden of a path for younger Christians to consistently show up.
Even if the biggest earners, including Disney, Universal and Warner Bros., snub outright faith-based fare in their film slates, Americans of faith haven’t exactly abandoned their top-shelf efforts. Animated films have dominated 2024, with the country kneeling before Pixar record-holder “Inside Out 2” this summer, the highest-grossing animated film ever.
The lauded studio is already caving to pressure to avoid alienating anyone from future projects, as Pixar’s upcoming “Win or Lose” long-form series for Disney+ cut a trans storyline ahead of its 2025 premiere. A Disney spokesperson justified the decision by saying the company recognizes that “many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline,” a sentiment that is difficult to separate from Donald Trump’s oncoming return to the presidency.
If Hollywood is unwilling to offend some Christian viewers in that regard, then the faith-based market needs to come to terms with the reality that bigger films will always nip at their heels, unless such distributors take younger viewers at their word and fill the comedy gap.
But exclusive survey data provided to VIP+ by the National Research Group indicates Christians are seeking lighter fare more than any other.
Family cinema is by far the preferred genre, with 64% of Christians who watch faith-based content wanting more of it across the board.
But when you isolate those under 35, comedy shoots to the top and is a smidge more desired than family fare as well as outright biblical tales.
Likewise, NRG’s data shows why that stat can’t be ignored.
Millennial and Gen Z viewers are the ones who appear to be propping up the faith-based market, with two-thirds of millennial Christians saying they watch such films and series at least once per month.
As much as “Sound of Freedom” resonated as a surprise success, it’s clear younger generations’ preference for something light and funny isn’t being met.
Angel Studios’ slew of films in the wake of “Sound of Freedom” have mainly tackled biopics and inspirational stories, none of which passed $20 million in the U.S. Despite the strong entrance into theatrical last year, Angel clearly hasn’t upended Sony Pictures and Lionsgate’s continued focus on the space, with all three sitting as peers together.
Sony’s “The Forge,” from sub-label Affirm Films, remains the top faith-based film at the box office in 2024, having benefited from a late August release when major-studio output was low. Angel Studios went in a bolder direction, timing most of its slate this year for holiday weekends, a strategy that this week’s dystopian doomsday thriller “Homestead” is capping as it bows alongside heavy franchise hitters like “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.”
To its credit, Angel Studios has already moved 2025 hopeful “David” out of its Thanksgiving holiday slot, per Comscore. The animated biblical tale would have gone up against Universal’s “Wicked: For Good” installment, as historical thriller “Bonhoeffer” was largely overshadowed by “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” last month, topping out at just under $12 million.
Compare that with 2023’s “The Blind,” a biopic for enigmatic “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson that made a bit over $17 million through a Fathom Events run, and it becomes evident that history may be too trodden of a path for younger Christians to consistently show up.
Even if the biggest earners, including Disney, Universal and Warner Bros., snub outright faith-based fare in their film slates, Americans of faith haven’t exactly abandoned their top-shelf efforts. Animated films have dominated 2024, with the country kneeling before Pixar record-holder “Inside Out 2” this summer, the highest-grossing animated film ever.
The lauded studio is already caving to pressure to avoid alienating anyone from future projects, as Pixar’s upcoming “Win or Lose” long-form series for Disney+ cut a trans storyline ahead of its 2025 premiere. A Disney spokesperson justified the decision by saying the company recognizes that “many parents would prefer to discuss certain subjects with their children on their own terms and timeline,” a sentiment that is difficult to separate from Donald Trump’s oncoming return to the presidency.
If Hollywood is unwilling to offend some Christian viewers in that regard, then the faith-based market needs to come to terms with the reality that bigger films will always nip at their heels, unless such distributors take younger viewers at their word and fill the comedy gap.