Fox Unveils Christian Division

20th Century Fox is soon going to have so many specialty divisions that their brand is going to be completely meaningless. Of course, it makes sense for a studio named for a century long past to have a bit of identity trouble, but with Fox 2000, Fox Searchlight, Fox Atomic and now FoxFaith, there's definitely room for confusion. At least FoxFaith, their newest, Christian-themed division has an easily distinguishable name. In fact, it is so literal and appropriate in its name, it sounds more like a new TV channel.

FoxFaith will be producing* 12 films a year, with 6 of these released in theaters under a partnership with the AMC and Carmike cinema chains. While Fox has said they will be marketing the films specifically to evangelical Christians, it isn't clear whether or not the films will be sappy family films dealing with good moral values -- perhaps in conjunction with newly acquired production company Walden Media, which produced Fox's Because of Winn-Dixie -- or if they'll also include violent Bible films like The Passion of the Christ, which was released in theaters by Newmarket but on DVD by Fox. All that is known is that the division's first release will be Love's Abiding Joy, part of the Western series based on the novels of Janette Oke. I doubt this film will capture the huge audience that Passion and other blockbuster religious films have, as it is basically a made-for-TV movie, but otherwise Fox is likely to make some big bucks with this venture, which some might see as purely exploitative. ...

*Correction: Fox has stated that they will not be making any of the 12 films. They will only be distributing them on home video under the FoxFaith banner.