Keeping the Faith: Religious moviegoers drive demand for authenticity

Rating movie theatres on their faith-friendliness was among the many firsts that the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens brought to our industry back in December. And, yes, that first relates to box office too, as the following conversation with Faith Driven Consumer (FDC) will show. The Raleigh, North Carolina-based advocacy organization represents some 41 million Americans who spend $2 trillion annually. Based on FDC’s Faith Equality Index of 100 possible points that score more than 400 major brands, Regal Entertainment Group came out on top and AMC Theatres at the bottom of the major chains. Carmike Cinemas and Cinemark collected 37 and 36 points, respectively, with AMC counting 18 and Regal 40. The proprietary rating system sees Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby lead with Faith Equality around 62, with Apple and T-Mobile trailing at 19.