The group behind the recent IStandWithPhil.com movement, which played a leading role in Phil Robertson’s return to Duck Dynasty, is tracking the commercial viability of major Hollywood films courting faith audiences this year. During 2014, the year of the Bible movie, studios are targeting 46 million Faith Driven Consumers who spend $1.75 trillion annually.
The first such offering, Paramount’s film about Noah, could face commercial challenges with Faith Driven Consumers, according to a new online survey released Monday. The study shows that 98 percent of faith-driven consumers indicate their entertainment needs are not satisfied by Noah, a Bible-themed movie in which the biblical theme is reportedly replaced with one of Hollywood’s creation.
“Faith Driven Consumers are eager to channel their formidable purchasing power toward entertainment choices that resonate with their values, and are keenly interested in the Bible-themed films that Hollywood studios are offering this year,” says Chris Stone, founder of Faith Driven Consumer and a certified brand strategist. “As such, moviemakers are positioned to realize large profits if they are successful in connecting with Faith Driven Consumers.
“However,” he continues, “our online survey finds that Paramount’s upcoming Noah film—widely reported to stray significantly from the core biblical message of the actual story—is going to face serious challenges resonating with Faith Driven Consumers, which could hurt the film’s bottom line. In order to increase its commercial viability, Paramount would be wise to take another look.”
With the impending release in March of the Paramount Pictures film Noah, starring Russell Crowe and directed by Darren Aronofsky, Faith Driven Consumer questioned members of the film’s target audience about the commercial viability of the $125 million movie given its widely reported and controversial deviation from the actual biblical narrative.
Faith Driven Consumer surveyed its supporters online over several days, and with more than 5,000 responses thus far, found that 98 percent are not “satisfied with a biblically themed movie—designed to appeal to you—which replaces the Bible’s core message with one created by Hollywood.” The survey’s current margin of error is 1.38 percent.
