Christian pop culture is experiencing a great awakening thanks to grassroots momentum.

Join the Faith Entertainment Revolution with “Jesus Revolution” and “The Chosen”

Get ready to be inspired by the latest revolution in faith entertainment! “Jesus Revolution” and “The Chosen” are not just Christian dramas, they are part of a movement that is changing the game. “Jesus Revolution” is a feel-good movie about hippies who returned to Christ during the 1970s, starring former “Cheers” and “Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer. Since its debut a few weeks ago, it has grossed more than $52 million, making it the most successful film released by studio heavyweight Lionsgate since 2019.

The Chosen: A Fan-Supported Success Story

But the real star of the revolution is “The Chosen.” This television series portrays a charismatic Jesus and his youthful disciples and has shown that it doesn’t need Tinseltown’s blessing to succeed. Through crowdfunding, its producers have raised millions of dollars from thousands of fans, and the show is now in its third season. “The Chosen” has been breaking viewership records, screening in theaters and on streaming platforms. According to its producers, it has recorded more than 450 million views worldwide, including on its app. The show is touted as “the largest fan-supported entertainment project of all time” by the Religion News Service.

Angel Studios and Wedgwood Circle: Innovating Christian Entertainment

Two companies in particular, Angel and Wedgwood Circle, have found innovative ways to create content that connects with audiences while making money. “Obviously in the last 15 years, a ton has changed,” said Terence Berry, COO of Wedgwood Circle, a nonprofit that connects investors and creators to develop projects informed by their Christian faith. “We’ll call it the ‘faith market,’ or sometimes it’s ‘faith adjacent,’ is having success out there. It’s largely been on its own, so if we’re talking about film, television, streaming, it’s largely been outside of the Hollywood system.”

• The California-based Come and See Foundation now funds the production costs for “The Chosen,” as well as the translation and distribution to enable the show to be available worldwide, through tax-deductible donations.
• Angel Studios offers more traditional crowdfunding through its “Pay It Forward” system, in which donors receive no financial return but can access different levels of perks or benefits, and see how many people their donation will help to access episodes.

Will There Be Imitators?

Will Angel Studios and “The Chosen” spawn imitators? “My guess is there’s probably room for a few of them to survive,” Berry said. But what he calls “the big question” is whether they will cater specifically to an underserved audience of convinced Christians. The NRG study said that only 1 in 3 members of the target audience for the faith-based market identifies as Christian, and notably, “His Only Son,” about Abraham’s last-minute reprieve from a divine mandate to sacrifice his son, is a story that appears in both the Christian and Jewish Bibles, and in a different form in the Quran.

While big studios looking to increase audiences and revenue in the streaming era may not decide to flood the zone with faith-based content, Angel Studios and Wedgwood Circle may nevertheless have something to teach them. Join the revolution and experience the power of faith entertainment!

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