entertainment

"You gotta have your faith," the late country singer said. "Thank God that I got it too. You take it for granted on days when things are good and you lean on it when days are bad. It's taught me to lean on it a little more every day."

Season 4 of The Chosen got off to an impressive start at the box office, soaring to No. 1 on opening night and finishing No. 2 for the weekend, according to estimates.

Emmy-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser referenced his life-changing transformation and his new I Am Second videos during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert last week.

Michael Foust sits down with Christian actress Cozi Zuehlsdorff to talk about her faith and role in Great American Pure Flix's new series, Going Home. She plays a hospice nurse in the project, and shares that she wants fans to "see Jesus" through her.

The phrase "Christian movie" is becoming increasingly difficult to define.

Does it only reference a movie with a strong gospel message, like Billy Graham movies from long ago? Or can it also include movies that don't quote Scripture but have biblical themes -- like forgiveness and redemption? And what about all those movies made by Christian filmmakers -- and even backed by faith-based studios -- that are void of sermons, though inspiring?

For this list, we're including all of the above.

The new year promises to be a solid year for Christian movies. It could be the best year ever. Angel Studios has an impressive slate. So does Kingdom Story Company. And the makers of War Room have a new movie, too. From what I've seen, 2024 raises the bar for excellence in the Christian film genre.

Here are 11 new Christian movies we're excited about for 2024:

A Christian movie that’s based on a true story and stars Dennis Quaid has soared up the Netflix charts to No. 1 and won a major mainstream award in recent days, some five months after it was released in theaters.

Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus, appeared on The View the same week that The Chosen, Season 4 opens in theaters. He quickly learned that the hosts watch the series.

The New York Times complains that fathers might be depicted too positively in the popular cartoon.

One of the most popular Bible-based entertainment projects ever, The Chosen, can credit its success to what Hollywood studios would call a stroke of fortune.

Fans of the series, though, would call it providential.

In 2019, the series' first season had its share of admirers but had yet to reach the viral status -- much less the funding -- it now enjoys. Then, the 2020 pandemic hit. In March of that year, the company behind The Chosen placed Season 1 online for free. Viewership soared. That led to more donations. It also led to more seasons.

Brad Pelo, president of The Chosen, believes the pandemic was critical to its current success.

"It helped because we were all in our homes, looking for something to do," Pelo told Crosswalk. "But I think it also helped because we were facing a dilemma as a society. We're wondering: Is this going to kill us all? Will life ever return to normal? We were asking existential questions of humanity."

Today, The Chosen is available on its own platform as well as major streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and Peacock. In my view, it is the best faith-based project in modern history. Season 4 releases in theaters in February.

Here are seven things you should know about Season 4:

Photo credit: ©The Chosen; used with permission.

The actress and singer who is known for her breakout role in the Dolphin Tale movies and who stars in the new Great American Pure Flix series Going Home says her faith has helped her stay grounded during various trials and is the “whole point” of living.