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Jun 25, 2023

The Kendrick brothers are proven moneymakers. Their films are notable in the Christian media industry for turning an extremely high profit given their budgets, and WAR ROOM is the Kendricks’ most impressive entry. Entertainment Weekly cites WAR ROOM as the fourth highest grossing Christian film of all time. The film even finished first in the North American box office in its 2nd week of theatrical release — impressive considering its meager $3 million budget. What’s in the Kendricks’ secret sauce that makes them outperform most of their competition? Our theory (other than lowering production costs by using free church labor) is that they aim for the gut with their films’ subject matters, which tend to center on Christian marriages that look perfect on the outside, but are broken within. In WAR ROOM, real estate agent Elizabeth (Priscilla Shirer) is frustrated in her failing marriage with her successful pharmaceutical dealer husband Tony (T.C. Stallings) until she receives sage advice from an elderly woman (Karen Abercrombie) who teaches Elizabeth that marriage is a war, and prayer is the battlefield upon which it is fought. Elizabeth makes a “war room” in her walk in closet, where she performs spiritual warfare on the devil until Tony shapes up and starts happily doing elaborate double dutch routines with their daughter. The Kendrick brothers know the formula — hit their audience at home, where it hurts most, and sell them an idealized but plausible-seeming Christian solution that will turn their lives around. Frequently, they release a tie-in self-help book based on their current film, a strategic maneuver that would impress even the most seasoned combat general of the spiritual war. In the battle for the Christian audience’s hearts and minds, the Kendrick brothers win every time.

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