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The NCAA basketball tournament rolls on and so does Plugged In’s Christian Movie Madness! Another round of our faith-based films contest has wrapped. Only 16 movies remain in contention to be dubbed the Greatest Christian Movie of All Time by you, the voter!
We’ve got a lot of great matchups in our “Big 16” Round right now, but first, let’s take a quick look back at some of the biggest surprises from the Round of 32 …
Facing the Giants Continues Its Cinderella Run
The 2006 football flick from Alex and Stephen Kendrick continues to topple every giant in its path. After smoking The Shack in the first round (claiming a whopping 86% of the vote), it took down another Kendrick Brothers film, War Room, in the second round. The margin of victory in that matchup was much tighter, but Facing the Giants still came away with 56% of the vote and the win. A 12-seed in our bracket, Facing the Giants is the lowest seeded movie remaining in the competition. Its Cinderella run will have to go against another giant in the Big 16—top-seeded The Jesus Film, perhaps the most viewed Christian movie ever—but, at this point, that’s familiar territory for Facing the Giants.
Three Narnia Movies Move On
Was C. S. Lewis a fan of college hoops? Hard to say, but he’d probably be pleased to see that the movies based off three of his Chronicles of Narnia books are doing well in Christian Movie Madness. Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader did their progenitor proud, while The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has hardly been challenged. The first Narnia film won both its matchups with more than 85% of the vote! It looks to be the juggernaut in the “John” division of our bracket.
The Last “Classic” Standing? Ben-Hur
The Round of 32 was a tough one for many of the biblical epics from Old Hollywood. The Robe was trounced by Courageous, while Fireproof squeezed out a win over The Ten Commandments. But fans of Charlton Heston shouldn’t fret just yet! Ben-Hur (the original 1959 version, not the 2016 reboot bounced by The Forge) remains after pulling 61% of the vote in its victory over Woodlawn. Ben-Hur took in 11 Oscars at the 1960 Academy Awards, but will it add “Greatest Christian Movie of All Time” to its accolades?
You can check out the rest of the Round of 32 results below.
Now, let’s jump into the most intriguing matchups from each division that you can vote on right now in the Big 16!
Big 16 Matchups
Matthew Division: #2 Sound of Freedom vs. #3 The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Though a “brutal film to watch,” Angel Studio’s Sound of Freedom delivers an important message while shining a light on the horror of sex trafficking. Moviegoers turned out in droves to support the film, to the tune of $251 million, and it’s blown through the first two rounds of competition. Meanwhile, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has been a sturdy three-seed and part of a durable Narnia triad. Will Edmund and Lucy Pevensie be able to top Special Agent Tim Ballard? Or will Sound of Freedom sound another victory call?
Mark Division: #1 Passion of the Christ vs. #5 Jesus Revolution
Is The Passion of the Christ the most well-known onscreen depiction of the Passion Story ever? You could make the case for it—the film took in more than $600 million worldwide when it was released in 2004. Plugged In called it “stirring, reverent and significant” and our voters seem to agree, helping the film cruise to the Big 16. On the other side, Jesus Revolution is no slouch either. Adam Holz considered it among the best Christian movies he’s ever seen, saying that the film might just be “a storytelling catalyst to spark a new chapter of your own spiritual journey and relationship with Jesus Christ.”
Luke Division: #6 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever vs. #7 Courageous
Luke has been the upset division in our bracket so far, with both The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and Courageous knocking off higher seeds to advance to the Big 16. Paul Asay felt that The Best Christmas Pageant Ever did a bang-up job of bringing Barbara Robinson’s book (and its message about God’s love for everyone) to the screen, while Adam Holz lauded Courageous’ reminder of God’s call to fathers. So, which of these “mid-majors” will advance to the next round?
John Division: #3 I Can Only Imagine vs. #7 Fireproof
As the Southeastern Conference (SEC) is to this year’s NCAA men’s basketball tournament, so the Kendrick Brothers are to Christian Movie Madness. Both have supplied a plethora of qualifiers to our respective brackets. 2008’s Fireproof is one of four (!) Kendrick Brothers films that made it to the Big 16. But it faces stiff competition against I Can Only Imagine, a movie based on the life of Christian band MercyMe’s Bart Millard, which has won comfortably against its last two opponents.
Who will move on? That’s up to you! Voting is open now. Make your voice heard and help determine which film will be dubbed the Greatest Christian Movie of All Time!
