Christians in Cinema

Numbers fascinate me because they tell a story. Want to know the most popular podcast? Or what flavor of ice cream is liked best in Iowa? What color of shoes sell best to lawyers in New Hampshire? The answers to all these questions can be found by studying the numbers.

Facing the Giants was one of the surprise hits of 2006. Many critics panned the movie, including many from Christian publications and websites. (more about that later) What do the audiences say? The numbers speak for themselves. Let’s look at a few stats (from Box Office Mojo):

1. “Giants” opened in 441 theaters with a box office total of $1.3 million for the first weekend
2. Total domestic gross was $10.2 million
3. “Giants” stayed in theaters for 17 weeks, from September 2006 – January 2007
4. Out of 607 movies released in 2006, “Giants” placed in the top 25% of box office revenues

People vote with their wallets. If we like something, we buy it. If we really like it, we tell our friends and encourage them to buy it as well. Facing the Giants currently has a viewer rating of A- on Box Office Mojo. How does that compare? Out of 1118 movies with posted ratings, only 17 others have an A- rating.

So what do these numbers tell us? Viewers loved the movie.

I’m not saying the critics don’t have valid points. But many times critical failures are popular successes because we want stories that draw us in, characters that engage us, and examples of miracles happening in everyday life.

Facing the Giants delivered that – the numbers show it.

I talked with Alex Kendrick earlier today to get an update on what’s happening 6 months after the first release of the movie. Here are some of the numbers he gave me:

• DVD sales are approaching 1 million units
• Rental revenues have reached $12.5 million
• Public performance licenses have been granted to 5500 churches
• DVDs are being distributed in 56 countries
• The film has been translated into 7 languages (with more to come)

But the most important statistic Alex gave? 2500 – the number of people who made professions of faith after seeing the film.

So the numbers tell the real story: We loved Facing the Giants, it’s impacting people around the world, and lives are being changed. That’s pretty good for a movie made by a Baptist church in Georgia.