How Biblical, Morally Uplifting Content Succeeds in Hollywood
By Movieguide® Staff
Movies with Christian or moral worldviews dominated the 2023 box office. While Hollywood creates more immoral content, the movies audiences put their dollars behind prove that family-honoring films always succeed.
Movieguide®’s 2023 Report to the Entertainment Industry found that, of the Top 25 movies at the domestic box office, those with very strong Christian, redemptive worldviews averaged $178,156,715, 100% better than those with very strong Romantic, occult, pagan, humanist or false religious worldviews.
Beyond the worldviews, movies that avoid foul language earned the most money ($257.16 million) on average. With increased obscenities and profanities, the box office earnings steadily declined.
Sexual content also fails to succeed at the box office.
Per Movieguide®’s report, “movies with extreme sexual content didn’t make any money whatsoever in the Top 25 Movies at the Domestic Box Office in 2023.”
Alternatively, films with no explicit sexual nudity in the Top 25 averaged more money than those with some or extremely explicit sexual nudity.
Graphic violence struggles to draw audiences. Per Movieguide®:
…the four movies with very strong, extreme and/or graphic violence in the Top 25 made the least amount of money, when it comes to depicted media violence, averaging only $187.33 million in the United States and Canada in 2023. Movies with only light or mild violence averaged a whopping $274.26 million among the Top 25, while movies with strong action violence or strong slapstick violence averaged $198.48 million.
No movies with extreme alcohol or drug abuse made the Top 25. Films with on a few miscellaneous theological or moral problems made the most money totally or on average. However, Movieguide® notes, “most movies have at least some miscellaneous immoral content to challenge the lead characters, heroes and heroines.”
Based on Movieguide®’s analysis of 170 theatrical movies released nationally last year, “family-friendly movies reflecting strong Christian, redemptive, moral, biblical, traditional, or conservative principles and values usually do significantly better at the box office in the United States and Canada than those movies that don’t have such strong content.”
“When we combine all the negative content or worldview elements together, it becomes clear that movies with anti-Christian worldviews and strong or extremely immoral, unbiblical content are box office poison,” Movieguide® notes.
Why does a movie’s worldview matter?
“A worldview is a comprehensive way of interpreting all of reality,” Movieguide® explains.
According to data from Nielsen, eMarketer and the U.S. Census Bureau, the average child or teen spends more time consuming mass media (66,504 hours) than with their parents (2,000 hours), at church (800 hours) or at school (11,000 hours).
With so much time spent consuming content, the worldviews mass media portrays will affect children profoundly.
“Many scientific studies show that undisciplined media consumption leads to increased violence, aggression, sexual promiscuity, and illegal drug use among children and teenagers,” Movieguide® says in its report. “Many other studies also show that undisciplined media consumption leads to a dumbed-down society.”
“In such a society, impressionable children and teenagers are subject to the ideological whims a debased popular culture, and a institutional school system that often seems out of control and free of any transcendent, objective standards of truth, goodness, justice, and beauty,” the report adds.
Thankfully, movies with at least some Christian, redemptive content or values accounted for two-thirds (68.24%) of the movies Movieguide® reviewed in 2023.
Similarly, the number of movies with some morally uplifting or biblical content or values surpassed 81% for the twelfth time in the last 13 years, “reaching 86.47% of the 170 movies reviewed in 2023.”
“Clearly, no matter how you slice it, movies fitting Movieguide®’s high Christian, moral, biblical, theological, spiritual, production, aesthetic, and entertainment principles, values and standards do much better or significantly better with moviegoers than those movies consistently violating those principles, values and standards,” the report concludes.
For those wanting to make it big in Hollywood, positive, uplifting, family-friendly movies will bring the greatest chance of success.
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.
