Every so often in Hollywood, a Christian film causes a stir. Pundits note a surprising box-office success or two and wonder if the United States is poised for a surge in Christian entertainment. The fact is, Christian films have been among the most consistently profitable for years. With producers keeping costs modest and making content for a sizable and largely overlooked audience, faith-based fare consistently hums along at a decent clip.
Recently, the buzz has been mounting again. It centers mainly on “The Chosen,” the series about Jesus originally seen as so untouchable by big studios that it had to be crowdfunded. Some $100 million and four seasons later, the show has now been seen by 280 million people worldwide.
What’s most interesting about “The Chosen” is that not only Christians are watching it. The showrunners say as much as 30% of audience members are not practicing Christians. This is intentional. The studio behind the show told The Economist that its mission is not about creating Christian television but about “restoring faith in things worth believing in.” In 2023, a Pew Research Center survey found 81% of Americans agree that “There is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it.”
Online, atheists have popped up to confess they watch “The Chosen.” What has attracted them is a sense of authenticity and a deep goodness. One posted on Reddit, “If anyone’s wondering why I’d get into this kind of show it’s because I love seeing the human side of Jesus. … I love getting to see the side of him that loves everyone, not just the saints but the sinners especially. That above all he was kind. The episode in the first season with the children made me cry so hard.”
Other Christian-based shows are following suit. “Mary,” a story about Jesus’ mother, was Netflix’s third-most-watched film after its release during the 2024 holiday season. “House of David,” about the biblical King David and by the same company as “The Chosen,” is the eighth-most-popular show on American streaming services.
“We weren’t looking to make a religious show,” the executive producer told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s about these humans in this moment living this story.”
Christian entertainment has been successful for decades. Now, the industry is discovering that connecting its values to the broader world can also make its message more universal.
