Still at the Acorn Stage

Some in Hollywood understand that the woke messaging (the villain is the white guy, the heroine of color is strong and independent and has no weaknesses) that has lost millions (see Disney's Star Wars prequel the Acolyte) requires a change of direction. The success of small-budget religious, specifically Christian-themed, movies has attracted investors' attention:

Faith-based film makers are getting bigger budgets.

[Jon] Erwin, 42, is a Christian filmmaker whose driving purpose is to put out uplifting stories that families can watch together. After nearly two decades of making small-budget movies in the parallel world of faith-based entertainment, he’s part of a loose tribe of filmmakers, producers and independent studios from that realm now storming into the mainstream.

Some key successes turned this corner of the industry into a hotbed. The Chosen, a multiseason TV drama about the life of Jesus and his apostles, became one of the most popular series in the world. Jesus Revolution, a movie by Erwin about a pastor and a hippie evangelist who create a surge of groovy Christians, pulled people into theaters in the shaky movie market of early 2023 and grossed about $54 million. Sound of Freedom, a thriller about child trafficking, had nothing to do with religion on the surface—but it galvanized religious viewers and grossed $250 million worldwide on a $15 million budget, becoming a box-office phenomenon second only to “Barbenheimer” last summer.

While my values are more aligned with Christianity than wokeness, I hope the new family-values film makers don't forget that the story is the key. Their movies will fail like the wokesters' if they forget that audiences want to be entertained, not lectured to.