Faith-based films on the rise in America and Lockhart’s Hometown Cinemas
By Dana Garrett
LPR Publisher
Lockhart’s Hometown Cinemas joins in the resurgence of Faith based Hollywood films with “Jesus Revolution” that started last Friday and continues with the opening of “His Only Son” on March 31. Also opening April 28 will be “Big George Foreman” and “Are you there God? It’s me, Margaret.”
The faith-based movie genre accelerated back in 2014 with three box office hits of “Son of God,” God’s Not Dead” and “Heaven is Real.” These three movies grossed $50 million within a two-month span. Since then, there have been a flurry of faith movies, many of them very successful.
Last week’s “Jesus Revolution” grossed $15 million its opening weekend, well on its way to become one of the top grossing faith-based movies of all times.
Recent high grossing films include 2014’s “God’s Not Dead” at $61 million, 2015’s “War Room” at $68 million, and 2018’s “I Can Only Imagine” at $83 million still sit well behind the classic 1959 “Ben Hur” at $612 million and 1956’s “The Ten Commandments” at over $2 billion lifetime gross.
This resurgence in faith based films, in conjunction with the recent Ashbury University’s student chapel service that went viral after 20 students began to worship and pray for one another seems to show a hunger for Jesus and is giving great hope for the future of Christianity.