How Much Do Christian Reviewers Affect the Box Office?
How do you decide what films to see? Do the opinions of a reviewer honestly sway your decision about whether or not to attend a film? What if that reviewer is a Christian?
I’ve had the opportunity to attend press junkets for several films in the last year. [A junket is a combination of screening and interview sessions with talent from the film, which could include the director, producer, writer, and a number of cast members] Journalists from a lot of different media outlets attend (online, print, radio and television), both from “secular” and “religious” media.
Since the success of The Passion of the Christ, studios have observed power in the church movement and are trying to engage it for as many films as possible. Some critics think Hollywood looks at religious media as “a way to sell tickets” to their films, and credit the box office results of family-oriented films to positive reviews.
Do reviewers really have that much power to build an audience for a film? Or are we attributing too much power to media (even if it is “religious”)? Is Hollywood (and critics of religious media’s involvement with Hollywood films) overlooking a simpler answer? Could it be that Christians actually like well-made films with good storylines and positive messages, even if there’s no direct gospel message given during the film? What do you think?
