Persistence of Vision

So what do Americans want to see when they go to the movies? Box office returns are revealing--and tell a story quite different from the one Hollywood might like to tell. A survey of 2007 ticket sales and movie viewing habits shows that Americans overwhelmingly want strong moral content and family themes. G-rated movies did more than four times better than R-rated ones, and the overall preferences are quite clear--the films that made the most money had no graphic sexual content and no explicit nudity. These patterns apply to video sales and rentals as well.

"Our annual report to Hollywood shows once again, with relevant financial statistics, that people, including most moviegoers, want good to conquer evil, truth to triumph over falsehood, justice to prevail over injustice and beauty to overcome ugliness," says Ted Baehr, the president of the Christian Film and Television Commission. "They also want to take their whole family to the movies more often (assuming, of course, that ticket prices, concession prices and gasoline prices don't get too high or prohibitive). And they want to see their religious faith respected and celebrated."

Baehr also notes that since 1991, there has been a 238% increase in family-oriented films with strong moral content. In 1991, 18% of films fit this description; today, 61% do. Last year, the top ten grossing films were all rated either "G" or "PG;" the PG-rated films included Shrek the Third, National Treasure, and Alvin and the Chipmunks. "Major Hollywood studio executives are finally getting the message that movies with positive Christian, moral content are great for business," the report notes.