International Treasure: R-Rated Movies Don’t Sell Overseas
by Ted Baehr
A new three-year study of the Top 25 movies released in 2006-2008 earning the most money overseas shows that international moviegoers prefer clean movies with strong or very strong Christian, moral and/or redemptive content and values.
This study is significant because it matches our annual study of the Top 25 Movies at the Box Office in America and Canada and the top home video sales annually, and because Hollywood now makes more money overseas than it does in the United States.
The Movieguide® study found that 20 of the Top 25 movies overseas in 2006-2008, or 80%, contained strong or very strong Christian, moral, redemptive, and even biblical content, earning $8.39 billion out of $10.59 billion total, or 79.2% of the money among the Top 25.
That’s an average of $419.5 million per movie!
A couple of the best examples are “Spider-Man 3″ and “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” both of which actually made it into the Top 10 movies overseas in 2006-2008.
“Spider-Man 3″ has a very strong Christian worldview with very strong redemptive themes, where the hero goes in repentance to the foot of the Cross to shed his sins. The new “Indiana Jones” movie shows the hero rejecting the evil tyranny and mind control of Communism and ends with a brief church wedding scene that quotes the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 19 and Verse 24 of Chapter Two of the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament!
None of the Top 25 movies overseas in 2006 to 2008 were R-rated, but nine of them were rated G or PG. Also, only three of the Top 25 had more than 25 obscenities and profanities, only three had any depicted sexual content, only two had any sexual nudity in them, only four had any very strong action violence, only five (20%) had any drug references, and only 10, or 40%, had any scenes of drunkenness or alcohol abuse.
Moviegoers clearly prefer clean movies with strong Christian, moral, biblical, and redemptive content. They want good to triumph over evil and justice to prevail. They want to be inspired.
The following chart lists the kind and percent of moral, theological and political content Movieguide® found in these Top 25 Movies:
Top 25 Movies at the Overseas Box Office, 2006-2008
|
Content |
Percent |
|
Strong/Very Strong Christian, Moral and/or Redemptive Content |
80% |
|
Strong/Very Strong Pagan or Mixed Content |
36% |
|
Strong/Very Strong Capitalist, Pro-American and/or Patriotic Content |
32% |
|
Strong/Very Strong Anti-Christian or Anti-Biblical Content |
12% |
|
Strong/Very Strong Occult Content |
12% |
|
Strong/Very Strong False Religious Content |
12% |
|
Strong/Very Strong Political Correct Content and/or Revisionist History |
12% |
|
Strong/Very Strong Romantic/Liberal Philosophies |
8% |
|
Strong/Very Strong Pro-Environmentalist Content |
8% |
|
Strong/Very Strong Unrebuked Anti-Capitalist or Anti-American Content |
4% |
–
Besides “Spider-Man 3″ and the “Indiana Jones” movie, the study also included such top movie releases in 2006, 2007 and 2008 as “The Dark Knight,” “I Am Legend” (which had a several Christian worldview), “Wall-E” (which had a very strong redemptive Christian worldview focusing on a heroic example of the Christian definition of love), “Ice Age: The Meltdown,” “Prince Caspian” (based on a Christian novel), “Iron Man,” “Transformers,” and the last two “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies (both of which contained overt Christian references at the center of an ultimately redemptive plot).
A Movieguide® study of the Top 25 movies overseas in 2005, 2006 and 2007 showed very similar results to the new three-year study.
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52 Comments
Maybe it's due to the fact they don't have a constant stream on anti-Christian worldview coming out of their media.
Conclusion: People want uplifting movies that give good lessons on morals and values.
They also want films that say there is good and there is evil and that you have to side with good and fight evil.
That even the most evil person can be redeemed.
They want adventure stories that state that no matter how strong evil may be, it can STILL be conquered.
I think I know a man who can explain it even better, Samwise Gamgee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEMdXhfO-Wk
"I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something."
To put it simply, those stories of adventure, redemption, human triumph, and good against evil, as Samwise would say, are "the Tales that Really Mattered."
Hollywood would rather live in a dream than face the fact that they're not being embraced worldwide — anyway, multiculturalism seems kind of empty when most cultures, including your own, look down on you.
Anything for a Leftist to keep from feeling like an idiot. Anything, and that includes lying to himself or herself.
One thing about PG and G rated movies is they have to have more plot and actual real writing (most of the time) to make up for the lack of complete sensationalism. Thinking about it old fashioned movies had to do the same thing and hold up over time. Great article.
(Having problems posting a comment today.)
While cynicism has its place, I do not believe that good film has to be dour and negative. Perhaps this idea exists because one can make anything happen in a film, and being too optimistic would be seen as "lying" or "cheating."
Just a guess.
Hey Doc! Hollywood doesn’t care, the world needs changing, don’t you know.
Rarely can one go wrong quoting Master Samwise.
If evil did trump goodness, it would not be long before goodness was no more, hence the outcome of the study.
I'm a conservative Christian, and I'm glad to see that the world viewing audience tends to reward G, PG and PG-13 movies with their dollars. However, I have a really hard time slapping a "Christian" label on some of these movies. I would definitely say that the movies mentioned uphold the values of Western culture influenced by its Judeo-Christian heritage, but I have a really hard time saying a movie like the fourth Indiana Jones was "Christian." Are we putting that label on movies when a character quotes scripture? Well then, how about "The Mummy," in which a character quotes the Old Testament, in a rather ridiculous way I might add. Does that make it Christian? Pirates of the Caribbean a Christian movie? Any of them? With all of their plots based on the powers of heathen gods and such? I think Dr. Baehr needs to rewatch some of these movies and re-evaluate his definition of a "Christian" movie. I disagree.
Though I think you're stretching logic to claim some of those movies as Christian, I can at least see that the stories are redemptive, in a way. Your description of WALL-E, especially, made me chuckle because I viewed it as a touchy-feely, new-age, PC, faux-spiritual film. That said, I'm not surprised at all that movies with a generically positive message succeed the best on a worldwide scale. It's just human nature in action.
A schizophrenic Hollywood makes movies portraying Islamofascists as moral equals to the West while these same Islamofascists view Hollywood as the crown on the head of the Great Satan. Go figure.
If you're going to keep putting Baer's foolishness up, I'm going to keep pointing this out: The data here is massively tainted and skewed.
The boxoffice for family-friendly films is ALWAYS going to be higher because, by definition, more people are ALLOWED to be admitted. If you stripped the mandatory-enforcement of ratings away in any country, you would see these numbers even-out dramatically.
The study is interesting, as it seems to back what we choose to watch in our family. We choose not to see any R-rated movies, ever, regardless of how "good" they are. We're pretty nervous of PG-13, and don't watch them if they are on the R side of the spectrum.
Some people think this might be draconian, as in "Think of all the Oscar-awarded movies you'll miss, etc". My life goes on without needing to watch every movie ever made. It's the old brownie analogy…in the pan of brownies there is only 1 tsp of dog feces mixed in, but since percentage-wise it's insignificant, and the brownies look great, why don't you have some?
You are right. It is a stretch. The "Christian values" of most of these movies bubble pretty far under the surface.
Of course, Judeo-Christian values permeate and in fact make our society, so there is bound to be some influence on movies. To see how strong it is, it may be more interesting to analyze the differences between successful western-made movies and, say, Asian movies.
But there is in any case a lesson for Hollywood: most people are instinctively conservative when it comes to their own life and their own children and their views of what´s good and bad. As Robert Conquest once said: "Everyone is conservative about what he knows best." It would not be surprising at all to learn that even secular audiences reject certain values and messages.
I had to stop and think about this analysis at first, too. He never said they were Christian movies, but that they had a Christian worldview. That's different. A Christian worldview is one that looks for good, but uses good to overcome evil. It is redemptive, as he mentions, meaning anyone is capable of being redeemed. Thinking again, those movies do have that worldview, not that they are Christian, but that the writers looked at their world through the lenses of the Bible, even if it was unintentional.
I suspected that the data was flawed because I remember hearing about a similar study by a Christian group that said essentially the same thing.
You can't "hope" to have "change" in the culture if you don't first destroy the culture. Hollywood doesn't care about making money – they're smart enough to know when to throw in a film that cleans up at the Box Office (The Dark Knight, Star Trek, Twilight, Saving Private Ryan) so they can keep funding the propaganda.
When Dr. Baer said "Christian" films I believe he was referring to films with Christ-figures.
Interesting thought. As for me, I can also look at it from the other side: cynicism and pessimism (and the usual other -isms) don't necessarily make for bad movies. There are plenty of good movies that are dark and depressing. And having spiritually uplifting themes or an American hero triumphing over Communism doesn't necessarily mean the movie will be any good either (I'm looking at you, Indiana Jones!).
And I agree with MovieBob below – family movies will always make more money simply because more people are allowed to see them. The Hangover is cleaning up at the box-office but, with all due respect, I doubt Dr. Baehr will be including it in next year's survey.
And I will mention that, when asked for an example of a spiritually-redeeming film, our esteemed John Nolte mentioned The Bad Lieutenant, which is NC-17!
I agree with you to a point. This is why I think, with all due respect, Dr. Baehr proves that you can go to a movie (or watch a TV show or listen to a song, etc.) and read into it whatever you like. If he sees Christian themes where they might not exist or where you and I may not see them, I have no problem with that.
As for ratings, I believe it works both ways. You can have morally-uplifting R-rated movies (The Lives of Others, The Passion, Schindler's List, etc.) and very bad PG or PG-13 movies (Year One being a current example). A film's overall thematic content and rating are often mutually exclusive.
But these are all action-packed franchises: Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones, etc. These are also mostly family-oriented films, so as MovieBob pointed out, naturally they are going to sell more than R-rated pictures. It has nothing to do with Christian values. I take it that Transformers is in the Top 25 as well, and I can't think of a more cynical and empty piece of manufactured junk than that film.
I didn't know John Nolte recommended Bad Lieutenant as a spiritually-redeeming film. Kudos to him for that. Good films don't have to be dour and negative but in my opinion the best films in the world challenge the viewer and put up a bit of a struggle, but ultimately earn their right to beat you down emotionally. Bad Lieutenant is one of those pictures. Even the scum of the earth can achieve redemption.
Um, Spider-Man 3 has a Christian worldview?
BIG stretch there, bud (IMHO).
Vic
What about movies to watch by yourself or with your significant other?
Er, since, as has been noted above, there are more people allowed to see PG and G movies, doesn't that argue even more for Hollywood making more of those movies? Does it really matter why the statistics show that those are the movies that are most watched? Am I missing something here? Are some of you trying to say that more means less? Isn't the question really: why does an ostensibly money-making endeavor like Hollywood go out of its way not to make money?
Christian ideas and values are so imbued in Western culture, they show up even when the creators aren't trying. Interesting how that happens, no?
The fact is, Baer has an agenda to promote a certain kind of film and props up data that backs him up without broader context. G-rated movies earn more because EVERYONE can go see them. This doesn't test what people want to see, it tests what they are ALLOWED to see.
Every time I go to see a major-release horror film, the audience is AT LEAST a 3rd full of children and young teens who SNUCK IN. If you rescinded the mandatory-enforcement of the age ratings, you'd see stuff like Saw and Friday the 13th doing Iron Man business, maybe even Dark Knight business.
Remember your history. In Rome, horrifically bloody mass-animal-slaughter, public-execution and fights to the death were staged on the single largest and most dominant "venue" they had, while clowns and puppeteers performed for small audiences in the street.
"why does an ostensibly money-making endeavor like Hollywood go out of its way not to make money?"
Because Hollywood is staffed by humans, who are not machines.
Filmmakers and actors are people creative people who wish to create and to express themselves. Yes, you have to put things out that people wish to see if you want to survive, but no one of any artistic worth wants ONLY to make impersonal "crowd-pleasers" that doesn't also inspire them in some way. So, here and there, an industry that chiefly employs artists needs to let them "be themselves" here and there in order to have them endeavor to stick around AT ALL. For example, if the biz wants Christopher Nolan to come back and make another Batman blockbuster, it's in their long-term interests to let him (and HELP him) also make his freaky magician movie in-between.
Considering that roughly 5/6's of the worlds population is not Christian, the assigning of Christian values in the study reflects the bias of the people asking the questions and assigning their values to the films. Saying that is what people look for in a movie (specifically Christian values as opposed to basic morality) is a bit of a stretch. The top movies are Hollywood summer blockbusters, all designed to maximize profit for the studio's by pulling in the widest possible audience.
By the nature of Western Culture and History, Christian symbolism can be see in just about anything if one puts their mind to it, that does not lesson the imagery but it also does not give credibility to the statement that people look for Christian values when they go to a movie and want to be entertained.
"Hollywood doesn't care about making money"
I'd love to hear you say that to a studio executive.
Well, I'll be danged. I can't post on this site. Why?
I tried to post something earlier – it was 'deleted by the administrator'. My post said that this list pleased me but also confused me because it said the exact opposite of Hollywood. I.e., Hollywood's 'reason' for eliminating Christian virtue, morality, patrotism, etc. from its films was because foreign moviegoers didn't like them. A 'fact' which this list kicks in the teeth.
Redemptive or not, Spider-Man 3 and Indy Jones 4 were both horrible films.
If this is what people want, then why are we not getting a sequel to "Master and Commander?" That movie fits all the criteria to a T.
I did a study for my Writers Guide to Hollywood Directors, Producers and Screenwriters Agents in 1999 and gave it to anyone who wanted it, called "Kids Love It." It had all the things you mention and some (to me) very interesting looks at the specific elements that make these movies successful. I redid the study in 2003 with updated movies (I did four books like that). Nowadays, they call movies that have these qualities "four quadrant" meaning the generations they reach but they should call it five quadrant or even six – seniors, Boomers, X, Millenial, and kids. Pixar's "Up" would hit them all, for example.
This just goes to show that this kind of movie has been Hollywood's best export to the world for a long time.
@Hucbald
Actually, Wall-E is a story about the biblical definition of love, which is focused on others instead of selfish desires. Christian critic Chuck Colson explains:
Many critics saw the film as an environmental movie. But while WALL-E has a lot to say about the stewardship of the creation, it is ultimately about much more. Filmmaker Andrew Stanton, an outspoken Christian, recently explained to World Magazine that what really interested him in the story line was “the idea of the most human thing in the universe being a machine, because it has more interest in finding out what the point of living is than actual people.”
“The greatest commandment Christ gives us is to love,” Stanton says, “but that's not always our priority. So I came up with this premise that . . . irrational love defeats the world's programming.” That’s why Stanton created WALL-E and EVE to work literally against their own robotic programming to demonstrate love, first for each other, and then for humanity.
(cont.)
In contrast to robots learning to love, Stanton wanted to show how humans had become machinelike. Our routines and habits, he argues, have programmed us “to the point that we're not really making connections to the people next to us. We're not engaging in relationships, which are the point of living—relationship with God and relationship with other people.”
http://www.breakpoint.org/listingarticle.asp?ID=1...
I think we Christians can get so used to Hollywood mocking our values that it's a surprise when a sci-fi movie like Wall-E affirms them. Conversely, there are movies that have Christian symbolism, but are clearly intended to undermine believers' faith (e.g., DaVinci Code).
In short, we need step back and take a breath so we can discern films that mock our values from those like Wall-E that celebrate them.
Dr. Baehr is referring to Spider-Man forgiving the a supervillain for accidentally killing his father figure, Uncle Ben. The Christian value of forgiveness is celebrated in many action films.
The flaw with your argument is appropriately "Passion of the Christ" which is the highest-grossing "R" film of all time.
So, if given the choice, Christian moviegoers will support en masse a pro-Christian movie like Passion over one like "Year One" that mocks their faith and values.
That's the truth. C.S. Lewis once said, "A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading.” If Lewis were alive, he'd add movies and TV to his quote.
God can use any form of fiction to express what is right and wrong. Even atheist creators of fiction can be used by him for this purpose.
For example, the success of the Star Trek prequel made me look back at episodes of the various TV series. What struck me was how the show's atheist creator, Gene Roddenberry, kept giving the green light on episodes that affirm Christian values. Note how often Star Trek episodes flat out condemn human cloning, assisted suicide, and euthanasia as evil abuses of science. As least on life issues, Roddenberry may as well be Dr. James Dobson.
And let's not forget the episode from the classic Trek series, "Bread and Circuses," in which Christians are portrayed as the good guys:
http://www.startrek.com/startrek/view/series/TOS/...
So, it's atheists who really have to beware of what they read or watch lest they become a follower of Christ.
I would love for this to be true, but the data presented is quite thin, and the conclusions aren't backed up in any meaningful way. This seems to be a trend here at Big Hollywood.
Moral redemption, yes! But then most religions have moral redemption base. Conscience human living is also about moral redemptions. Love has a generic definition everywhere.
To typecast it as Christian is quite narrow…. spiderman, dark knight, iceage, wall E… quite a stretch!
I'm all for good values, but people shouldn't be looking to movies for their morals etc and I seriously doubt anyone really does. Personally, it's rare (but not impossible) that I enjoy G to PG13 movies. Or if I do, they would be improved upon if they were R. Not always the case, but normally (The Incredibles being a good exception that springs to mind). This list is just going to convince Hollywood to continue making PG-13 Die Hards and Terminators, though. Is that really a good thing?
Bah, really need an edit button. Thinking about it it looks like I'm bashing G-PG13 movies when it's more the fact that this kind of thing ruins R movies. There are quite a few good non-R movies, but if this thing continues there will be 0 good R movies.
Ted Baehr keeps coming back with this study over and over again – frankly I'm getting a bit tired of it.
I think there's a lot more than violence/sex that contributes to a movie's success. The connections this study makes is starting to feel paper thin.
If that's what he intended, he failed. I got 3/4 of the way through and turned it off. Sorry, but IMO WALL-E sucked.
[...] Produces What the Public Wants" By Doug No. No, they don’t. A new three-year study of the Top 25 movies released in 2006-2008 earning the most money overseas [...]
"I'd love to hear you say that to a studio executive."
So why all the anti Iraq movies that died at the box office?
And the point is that the studios must forbid making R-rated movies or above ever again? And at the same time, should we destroy every other R-rated movie that's ever existed? Should we go through the process of pulling these movies out of every single house and electronics store in America? People would notice what might have happened to every copy of, say, "Blade Runner" "The Matrix" "No Country for Old Men" "Silence Of The Lambs" "Blazzing Saddles" "The Passion of the Christ" or what not. That's all I can get the gist of.
Baehr had been hawking these "morality figures" for years, and he's been known to fudge them to fit his desired conclusion. The guy is nothing he claims to be and should not be trusted nor believed.
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