Here’s What Forever Changed The Faith-Based Film Industry
Christian movies have a pretty negative reputation.
They are criticized for being cheesy, preachy, poorly acted, poorly written and generally prioritizing lesson-teaching over entertainment or artistic excellence.
But, in recent years, their Rotten Tomatoes scores have been on a steady uptick. The critical reviews contain more of the nuance given to secular films, and, en masse, viewers seem to be more positive about their experiences.
So, what’s happening?
The tide that has turned in the faith-based film industry is multifaceted. The studios have become willing to give Christian directors bigger budgets. Writers have started telling stories with more complicated heroes and honest portrayals of life. Skilled and well-established actors like Patricia Heaton, Zachary Levi, Kelsey Grammar and Dennis Quade are being hired.
One of the innovators behind the industry’s compounding improvement is Andy Erwin.
Erwin and his brother Jon helped found Kingdom Story Company in 2019. The studio has been responsible for some of the largest and most positively reviewed Christian films to date — including Jesus Revolution, Sarah’s Oil and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
But the Erwin brothers’ breakout hit was 2018’s “I Can Only Imagine.” The film follows MercyMe’s vocalist, Bart Millard, from his childhood growing up with an abusive father to his creation of one of the most popular contemporary Christian songs of all time.
Now, they’re back with the sequel, “I Can Only Imagine 2,” which came out in theaters last week.
Religion Unplugged’s Culture Critic, Joseph Holmes, sat down with Erwin to better understand where the Christian film industry is headed and why the story of “I Can Only Imagine” needed to be expanded on.
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Matthew Peterson is Religion Unplugged’s podcast editor and audience development coordinator. He took part in this past summer’s European Journalism Institute held in Prague, an annual program co-sponsored by The Media Project.