THE TOP CHRISTIAN MOVIES OF THE CENTURY

"FAITH-BASED FILMS HAVE BEEN A MAIN -stay of Hollywood almost since the advent of cinema," says Comscore box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

That said, Christian films come in two categories: The obvious kind, like when actor Kirk Cameron accepts Christ as his personal savior in the movie Fireproof from evangelical filmmakers Alex and Stephen Kendrick; and the more subtle kind like Sound of Freedom, a movie about real-life former Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard's effort to rescue children from sex traffickers.

While Sound of Freedom comes from Angel Studios, a faith-based studio, there aren't many references to Ballard's Christianity. Nevertheless, some consider it a faith film and 4 million people, presumably the bulk of whom are Christian fans of Angel Studios, have participated in the "pay it forward" campaign, as the studio calls it, by purchasing tickets that strangers may claim for free.