Movies and television shows with Christian foundations have found their way to vast audiences without Hollywood studios. Hollywood used to produce these movies and shows because the culture demanded it. But as society has become more secular, that demand went down and so did the productions in such types of entertainment.
In my years at a Hollywood studio, I witnessed the machine in action. I was but a cog, but the formula was apparent—pay millions to a big star, spend close to a hundred million dollars or more on production and tens of millions on marketing and promotion to build an audience for the project. You may not make a profit initially, but the high margins on DVD sales and other ancillary markets would bring the profits. Network television shows marched towards the holy grail of syndication in which episodes from past seasons were aired across the country and paid for with healthy license fees (that’s how Seinfeld and Friends were/are on every day).
But Angel Studios has changed everything. Movies and television series are now funded, in some part, in advance from the target audience. Angel Studio’s objective is to produce and distribute content that “Amplifies Light”. This was initially done with The Chosen, in 2019, in which 16,000 people contributed $11 million. The fifth season of The Chosen launches later this year.
In addition, Angel Studios and The Chosen have built direct relationships with their audience for viewing and promoting their content through mobile and television applications. This disintermediates the old model as well in which the Hollywood studio was needed in order to build a meaningful audience.
Here are just some of the movies Angel Studios has helped get out to the world that would likely never have reached any meaningful sized audience:
Sound of Hope
Sight
The Shift
After Death
Sound of Freedom
His Only Son
Any person is able to support future entertainment projects through the Angel Studio platform. The team behind “His Only Son” (above) wants to produce, “Jacob”, and is seeking out those with interest to determine whether or not to move forward.
Another interesting approach is that Angel Studios is facilitating additional monies needed for movies already produced that will be released in just a few weeks. The movie Brave is set to release on January 24, 2025 and is seeking a loan to help with marketing costs to promote the theatrical release. Here’s the trailer:
The minimum investment for Brave is $50 and the most you’ll earn on that is $10. However, there is no guarantee that you’ll get any money back. See how everything is presented here.
How we consume content has changed drastically over the years. We can access every movie and television show ever made from our phone. Now we can have a say in the content creation and promotion process of large entertainment projects that support Christian values without ever touching Hollywood.
Peace.