I've always found christian movie reviews interesting, but I'm left wondering why christian movies under perform at the box office.
In the past, Hollywood didn't take christian movies seriously simply because evangelical leaders have long considered movies an enemy of christian values. This changed in 2004 with the release of "The Passion of the Christ" which portrayed the crucifixion of Jesus.
Christians felt "The Passion of the Christ" spoke to their beliefs and have since longed for more movies which embody their faith. While I agree that there should be more movies which related to Christians, to pass "the Hollywood test" and gross big figures at the box office, insuring future movies which speak to our faith, christian movies need to appeal to a larger audience.
Recently the movie "Evan Almighty" took the stage as the next big Christian faith movie. Evan Almighty did top the box office on its opening weekend, making $32 million, but this was far below predictions. Whats more, the movie received terrible reviews. While other movies haven't had perfect reviews, those who gave The Passion of the Christ good reviews, turned around on Evan Almighty.
Evan Almighty was the sequel to "Bruce Almighty" and this is where the movie went wrong. Bruce Almighty was a hilarious flick, bringing Christians and atheists alike to their knees. While not specifically targeted at a christian audience, Bruce Almighty did feature christian values. Those who had seen and loved Bruce Almighty, thought Evan Almighty fell far short of its predecessors comical value. Unfortunately christian values were put behind comedy in this case. Had Evan Almighty been produced as a movie not tied to its prequel, it may have received better christian movie reviews.
