entertainment

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.

Valerie went on Instagram to talk about how she felt about not being asked back to the show.

Actor Ricky Schroder from the TV series Silver Spoons has set out to push back against the negative programming coming out of Hollywood.

Months after Dana Carvey tragically lost his son, Dex, to an accidental overdose, he returned to work on his podcast Fly On The Wall. And there, he opened up to his cohost, fellow comedian David Spade, about the grief he and his family are navigating after their devastating loss.

On social media, Laurie announced that he will release the first episode of his new series, titled  “The Adventures of Ben Born Again & Yellow Dog,” soon in a video post.