FINDING RELIGION THE ANSWER TO PRAYER FOR MOVIEMAKERS UNDERSERVED AUDIENCES FLOCKING TO THEATERS TO SEE FAITH-BASED, POSITIVE FARE.

Byline: GREG HERNANDEZ Staff Writer

Not every movie with Christian themes can make more than $1 billion worldwide, as ``The Passion of the Christ'' did two years ago, or the $744.8 million grossed in the U.S. and overseas by ``The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.''

But ``Passion'' and ``Narnia'' showed the movie industry that there are people out there who are hungry for faith-based movies and are willing to make a trip to the multiplex if something inspires them.

New Line Cinema hopes to tap into this crowd when ``The Nativity Story,'' a drama that focuses on the period in Mary and Joseph's life when they journeyed to Bethlehem for the birth of Jesus, is released Dec. 1.

``Nativity'' comes at a time when 20th Century Fox has launched Fox Faith Movies, a distribution label for family and Christian films, and when ``Facing the Giants,'' an inspirational $100,000-budgeted football film, is currently in the top 20, grossing $5.2 million over four weeks.

``It's interesting that there is so much interest in this movie not made by Hollywood; Hollywood has their own world view, and we are sharing our world view, and it is resonating with people,'' said Alex Kendrick, who co-wrote, directed and played the lead role in ``Giants.''

The key to the box-office success of ``Giants'' has not been endless commercials before the opening weekend or some big marketing dollars spent on fast foods tie-ins, endless commercials before the opening weekend or some kind of Internet campaign.

It has been all about word of mouth.

``We knew it had to be kind of grass-roots,'' said Clint Culpepper, president of Screen Gems, a Sony Pictures Entertainment movie label that released the film. ``You can't just put it out and throw money at it. It had to be finessed and handled like any specialized project. It's kind of that word of mouth that makes it find its audience.''

How ``Giants'' got to Sony was some kind of miracle. Kendrick and his brother Stephen had contacted Sony's Provident Music Group in Nashville to try to get rights for a song to use in the movie. Label executives wanted to see the film. After they did, they sent it to Sony offices in Culver City, and it found its way to Culpepper.

``To say that I'm not a religious person is a fair statement, and I would not be someone drawn to religious product,'' Culpepper said. ``But I could not take it out of the DVD player. And now everybody is kind of getting on the phenomenon of `The Little Engine That Could.'''

Now that Sony has found religion, it's staying on the path. The studio has a deal with Tim LeHay, author of the popular ``Left Behind'' books that have spawned several movies.

Fox Faith has enjoyed success in recent weeks with ``One Night With the King,'' starring Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif, among others. It has earned $7.6 million at the box office since its Oct. 13 release. The inspirational Western ``Love's Abiding Joy'' was the label's first theatrical offering and has grossed $252,726 in limited release.

``Even before we worked on `The Passion of the Christ,' we recognized that this was an underserved market, and we are taking steps to provide quality entertainment to the Christian market,'' said Steve Feldstein, Fox's senior vice president of corporate and marketing communications. ``We're in the business of entertainment; that's what we do. We're not in the business of proselytizing or preaching. Fox Faith will be great entertainment first, and the movies will certainly mesh with values of our core constituents.''

Fox Faith is ramping up to have a prolific 2007 with both theatrical and direct-to-DVD titles.

``We're in this business for the long haul,'' Feldstein said. ``Prior to our commitment to the marketplace, the interaction of Hollywood with the Christian market has been kind of a one-off scenario. We are in, and we are staying in.''

For theater owners, tapping into an underserved market is especially welcome since it can widen moviegoing demographics and get people into movie houses who don't normally go.

``I believe that the religious themes have been underutilized in movies, and we have examples of how successful religious themes can be,'' said John Fithian, chief executive of the National Association of Theater Owners. ``The biggest is obviously `The Passion of the Christ,' but look at `Facing the Giants' breaking into the top 10. There's a large segment of the American population that seeks entertainment with these themes.''

Marc Newman, president of Movieministry.com, said a film need not have overt Christian themes to draw moviegoers interested in films with positive messages. He cites the success of the holiday film ``The Polar Express,'' which Newman calls ``this generation's `It's a Wonderful Life.'''

``It doesn't hit you over the head. It lures you in, which is what good storytelling is,'' he said. ``I hope they will keep their focus on great storytelling that will also resonate with people outside the Christian audience. Christians don't have to be ghettoized. They are seeing the same good movies that come out as everyone else. They just aren't seeing movies that are morally offensive.''

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Photo:

(1 -- color) ``The Nativity Story'' chronicles the arduous journey of Joseph and Mary, played by Keisha Castle-Hughes, above, before and through the history-defining birth of Jesus.

Jaimie Trueblood/newline.wireimage.com

(2 -- 3 -- color) The football film ``Facing the Giants,'' above, was made for $100,000 and has grossed $5.2million over four weeks. Alex Kendrick, left, plays the lead role of the football coach, and he wrote, produced and directed the movie with his brother Stephen Kendrick.

Sony Pictures

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