Dan Wooding interviews Ted Baehr; photo: Peter Wooding

Dr. Ted Baehr: Hollywood can no longer afford to ignore Christ

Media expert, Dr. Ted Baehr, told a star-studded event in Beverly Hills, California, on Tuesday, February 23, 2010, that “Moviegoers prefer movies with Christian and biblical values,” Dan Wooding, founder of ASSIST Ministries.

He said that this was revealed in an annual study of box office and home video figures among the major movies produced by Hollywood.

Making his much-awaited report to the entertainment industry at the 18th Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Dr. Baehr said that according to Movieguide®’s 2010 Annual Report to the Entertainment Industry, of the movies released by the six major studios and the major independent studios in 2009, movies with very strong Christian worldviews (such as “The Blind Side” and “Disney’s A Christmas Carol”) averaged $75.7 million per movie at the North American box office in 2009, but movies with very strong Non-Christian worldviews (such as “Brüno”) averaged only $26.9.

“Movies with very strong Christian worldviews average the most money by far,” said Dr. Baehr, Founder and Publisher of Movieguide®, “followed closely by movies with very strong moral worldviews coming from a traditional biblical perspective.”

“Filmmakers need to make movies that overtly reflect the faith and values of America’s 234 million Christians,” Dr. Baehr concluded. “Hollywood can no longer afford to ignore Jesus Christ and His Gospel.”

The study found movies with very strong moral worldviews reflecting traditional biblical values in the Hebrew Scriptures or the New Testament documents averaged $66.5 million per movie. Movies with a very strong Christian worldview did even better against movies with very strong secular humanist or atheist worldviews, such as “Land of the Lost” and “Antichrist.”

In addition, 14 of the Top 20 Selling Home Video Titles of 2009 had strong or very strong Christian and moral worldviews, including such titles as “Up,” “Monsters vs. Aliens,” “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa,” “Marley & Me,” “High School Musical 3,” “Gran Torino,” and “Hannah Montana The Movie.”

Movieguide® is a publication of Good News Communications, Inc. and the Christian Film & Television Commission® ministry. It is an international non-profit organization dedicated to “redeeming the values of the entertainment industry by influencing industry executives and by informing and equipping the public about the influence of the entertainment media.”

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TAGS: USA Dr. Ted Baehr Hollywood biblical values Movieguide® The Blind Side

[02/25/2010]

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