David Condolora

Christian Film Statistics

BO-ring!

Ok, statistics are boring. I know. But hear me out.

I think a lot about Christian filmmaking and how it can be an effective tool for reminding people of God. Too often films created by Christians do the exact opposite, unintentionally eliciting moments of laughter and derision. It’s easy to see that as an attack on our faith, but it’s really not. The subject of ridicule is the poor filmmaking that obscures our faith to the point where it no longer matters.

Still, it would be nice to back that up with some raw data. To that end, I’ve begun a spreadsheet that aggregates relevant statistics for Christian films: box office take, budget, number of theaters, Rotten Tomatoes score, etc. I thought this might bring some trends or patterns to the surface, and I’m already seeing a few that I’ll write about in the future.

If we take a moment to objectively look at what we’re doing, we can find the weaknesses in our approach and correct them.

The spreadsheet is shared on Google Docs and is fully ~~edible~~ editable. If you think of a film that’s not on the list, or notice some pertinent information I’ve left off, go ahead and add it! My hope is that this will be a living document, never finished, and often updated.

Let’s learn from our mistakes and do better. It’s for His glory, right? So let’s do our homework and try to be effective.

P.S. If you think of a catchier title than “Christian Film Statistics,” let me know. It’s pretty boring.