80% of 2023’s Top 25 Movies Promoted Biblical, Moral Content
By Movieguide® Staff
While Hollywood often celebrates and promotes immorality, redemptive and moral worldviews dominated 2023’s top 25 movies.
Last year, 80% of the top 25 movies at the domestic box office had strong or very strong biblical or moral content, Movieguide®’s Report to the Entertainment Industry found.
Movies like THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE, SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 3, THE LITTLE MERMAID, ANT-MAN AND THE WASP: QUANTUMANIA and SOUND OF FREEDOM dominated the top 10.
INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY, MISSON: IMPOSSIBLE — DEAD RECKONING PART ONE, TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS, CREED III, ELEMENTAL, FAST X, WONKA, TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: MUTANT MAYHEM, THE FLASH, TROLLS BAND TOGETHER and M3GAN all had either a strong or very strong Christian, redemptive, biblical or morally uplifting worldview.
Alternatively, only 20% of the top 25 movies had strong or very strong non-Christian, anti-Christian, false or immoral worldview elements. Only one had a dominant humanist/atheist worldview.
Movieguide®’s report also found that “only two, or 8%, of the Top 25 Movies contained strong or very strong occult, witchcraft or necromancy elements (OO or OOO), but both of those movies had strong morally positive content where the characters were trying to stop the occult powers.”
Only five of the top 25 had homosexual content, and other immoral themes, like drug use, alcohol abuse and sexual content, struggled to make an impact at the box office.
96% completely avoided sexual content or immorality or only featured light, brief or implied sexual content.
Excessive language and violence didn’t necessarily improve a movie’s box office success either.
Per Movieguide®’s report, the top three box office earners had either no foul language or less than 10 obscenities and profanities, and only 16% had strong, graphic, extreme or bloody violence.
Most movies (56%) had “strong or very strong pro-American, patriotic, capitalist, anti-communist, anti-socialist content, pro-family, or conservative content,” while only 8% had any strong or very strong liberal or leftist content.
Ultimately, 21 of the top 25 were acceptable for families or mature audiences, and none were deemed totally unacceptable for viewing. Movieguide® nominated six of them for Teddy Bear Awards®.
As filmmakers look ahead to new projects, focusing on family-friendly, uplifting content that promotes a moral, biblical worldview is almost guaranteed success at the box office.
Movieguide® noted that by eliminating strong and very strong negative, non-Christian, anti-Christian, amoral, immoral or false content, moviemakers are two to four times more likely to reach the top 10 or 25 and find further success in future projects.
For example, THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE, which took second place at the domestic box office, already has a sequel in the works.
The first was dominated by a “strong moral, redemptive worldview with good conquering evil,” and if the second follows suit, it could likely meet or exceed the original’s $574,934,330 domestic box office take.
Likewise, WONKA director Paul King is open to making a sequel after the movie dominated the Christmas and early 2024 box office.
Per Movieguide®’s review:
WONKA is a very fun, funny movie, one of the most entertaining movies of the year. There are many fun and memorable songs throughout the movie, which makes it a delight to watch. WONKA shows good triumphing over evil through the magic of joy and great dreams. It also supports the little entrepreneur starting his own little business in the face of a government-sanctioned cartel. However, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older pre-teens because the cartel has bribed the police and a cathedral and its clerics with chocolate they can’t resist.
Thanks to its strong moral and “capitalist worldview about good triumphing over evil through the magic of joy,” it raked in $133,318,000 domestically and $628,484,781 internationally.
Even though Hollywood continues to promote immoral movies despite their failure at the box office, as seen at this year’s Oscars, Movieguide®’s Report to the Entertainment Industry proves that positive, uplifiting and moral content will always succeed.
All information was gathered from Movieguide®’s 2024 Report to the Entertainment Industry.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
