The success of the Bible in pop culture is evidence that, as much as we may try to reject it in our sin and cultural rebellions, this Story of the world cannot be fully suppressed. We need not update, massage, embellish, or water down the message of the Bible. It’s already the best Story in history. It is, in fact, the Story of history.

Weeks after Easter, a new faith-based movie out of Hollywood continues to do well at the box office. Angel Studios’ cartoon, The King of Kings, quickly surpassed its approximately $25 million price tag, making $19 million in its first week and $17 million in its second. As of last week, it topped $64 million and is on track to outpace the opening weeks of the epic 1998 DreamWorks movie, The Prince of Egypt.

The King of Kings retells the story of Christ and is based loosely on the 1840s Charles Dickens book, The Life of Our Lord. Its impressive cast includes Oscar Isaac as Jesus, Pierce Brosnan as Pilate, Kenneth Branagh as Dickens, Forest Whitaker as Peter, and Mark Hamill as King Herod.

Opening week stats like these should encourage studios, execs, and producers to continue to invest in Christian-friendly filmmaking. Clearly, audience interest is there. And Hollywood heavy hitters are interested in taking the roles.

Part of its success, and other recent productions in the same genre, is that it portrays biblical characters as real-life human beings, along with their frailties, ambitions, and personalities. The Chosen, the popular, crowd-funded series about Jesus and the disciples, is approaching its fifth season, with a reported two more to go. Its portrayal of the Gospel accounts takes considerable license with backstories and character development but also feels more real than the overly sanitized Bible films of the past. It’s a tradeoff with tight margins.

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