It started with one.
In March 2000, Richard Dutcher's "God's Army" stormed Utah theater box offices, earning $88,584 in just three days. The film, which cost $300,000 to make, went on to gross a total of $2.6 million before going to video.
This fall, six LDS-themed films are planned for theatrical release, and at least two more are scheduled for early next year.
"The power of the niche market is very much at the forefront," said Mary Jane Jones, of Excel Entertainment. "So far, we've done a good job of showing that there is a market for these niche films . . . films that speak to a specific audience."
Excel's niche is movies, videos, audio CDs and other materials that are LDS-oriented — something the entertainment industry has noticed.
"I think people take us seriously within the industry as a whole," said Jones. "The numbers speak for themselves."
According ACNielsen EDI Inc. — a company that compiles box-office statistics — Excel ranked eighth in the nation for limited-release film distribution in 2002. Excel released "God's Army," "Brigham City," "The Other Side of Heaven" in fairly quick succession in 2000 and 2001, and "Charly" in 2002.
Other films, including "Out of Step," "The Singles Ward" and "Handcart" were released in 2002, followed by "The R.M." in January of this year.
Together, all those movies earned a total of $11 million, according to Jeff Simpson, president and CEO of Excel. He added that $9 million "has gone through (Excel's) doors."
Though none of the later films has quite matched the millions earned by "God's Army" and "The Other Side of Heaven," there is no question that the market for Mormon movies is booming.
A quick glance at www.ldsfilm.com, which follows movies made by and about LDS Church members, reveals more than 30 announced or rumored Mormon films. And the filmmakers themselves anticipate that 2003 will be a defining year for LDS cinema.
"This is the year that is really going to make the difference," said Ryan Little, director of "Saints and Soldiers," a World War II drama scheduled to open in Utah theaters in early 2004. (He also directed "Out of Step" and was director of photography on "The Singles Ward," "The R.M." and the upcoming "The Home Teachers.")
"This is the year that's going to say, 'This genre has legs or this genre needs to go away,' " Little said.
He added a cautionary note, however. "I think that it's kind of neat that people are doing (LDS-oriented films). I think the danger is when everyone kind of gets excited and jumps on the wave and tries to create pictures. What happens is, you get a broad selection of quality level. . . . And, if LDS films do bad, or if a bunch of films come out consecutively that are poor quality or a bad story or a bad script or whatever, I wonder if the intended audience will say 'You know what, I think I've just had enough of that.'"
"I think there are potentially eight or nine Mormon films coming out between now and January," said Kurt Hale, director of "The Singles Ward," "The R.M." and "The Home Teachers," which opens Jan. 9. "So, I think this year is going to be a very interesting year, because not all of them will be successful — and mine may be one of those."
Hale added, "I have a feeling there's going to be some Mormon independents that will be squeezed out pretty quick this year."
Simpson — a former executive at Disney Studios — said he has been approached by most of the LDS filmmakers releasing films this fall. "I think, not just in Mormon movies, but in the whole movie business in general, you'll see some good performers and some bad performers. . . . With eight films, not everyone will perform as well as the others."
And what's the quality level of the films he has seen so far? "I have seen some of them and parts of others. . . . I think we'll see a maturing and a thinning all at the same time."
For Simpson, that "maturing and thinning" is exciting. "It ultimately comes down to if they're good, well-told and well-crafted," he said. "That's the evolution that's exciting to watch."
Meanwhile, the man who started it all is getting ready to make his third film. Richard Dutcher, who directed and starred in "God's Army" and "Brigham City," announced with Simpson in April 2001 that he would film a biography of Joseph Smith, titled "The Prophet." But financing fell apart.
Still, Dutcher is optimistic and says he is actively trying to pull together a budget for that film.
"Hopefully I'll be shooting that this coming spring, and we'll be set," he said. "Some people have said ('The Prophet') is on the back burner, but that's not true, it's on the front burner. I have two front burners on my stove, so I can keep it on the front burner. And then, I'm also working on a sequel to 'God's Army' that I hope to shoot within four to five months."
Dutcher has strong feelings about the genre he started and is also optimistic about the future of LDS films. "It's an exciting little genre, it really is," he said. "And I think people really don't understand how healthy it is. People feel too much anxiety about the poor films that come along."
According to Dutcher, even bad films can be good for the Mormon-movie genre.
"I think even if some film that's so poorly made that it's offensive to all of us comes out, I don't think even that is going to affect the market because there's just a pretty constant niche (audience) out there that will go see these films. And, I think that if a bad one comes along, they'll just forget about it, and it will make them want a good one even more."
When a niche film does poorly at a theater, however, it makes it more difficult for the next film to get in, Dutcher added. "And that could be one thing that could be a challenge for us is, if a few films go out and do poorly — whether because they're poor films or because they're poorly marketed or whatever. Then that causes us to have to negotiate a little harder with the theatre chains in order to get the films in there.
"And the reason why the doors were open after 'God's Army' was because it did extremely well. And so, the theatre chains are in the business of making money, so they wanted anything else that could bring in that kind of an audience, and so they were open to whatever came along and now they're getting a little more discriminating."
However, Dutcher also feels that the market for LDS films can only improve.
"I have absolutely no anxieties about the economic stability of this genre. Because there is enough of an audience there, if you make your films for the right price, if you don't overspend, then you're going to do well in that market. And, I think if it's an honest story, if it's very straight-forward, very honestly and sincerely told, then it will attract other people.
"We'll just try to ignore the really bad movies and really celebrate the great ones, and 10 years from now maybe we'll have our own big studio, cranking out our own product with a lot of experienced filmmakers. . . .
"We have this incredible potential to provide world cinema something that they don't already have — which is spiritual cinema."
LDS-themed films
SCHEDULED FOR FALL RELEASE
"Suddenly Unexpected" (special screenings in Houston theaters)
"The Work and the Story," Aug. 29 (limited digital-video screenings)
"The Book of Mormon Movie,
Vol. 1: The Journey," Sept. 12
"Day of Defense," Oct. 10
"Best Two Years," Oct. 10
"Pride and Prejudice," fall 2003
SCHEDULED FOR WINTER 2004:
"The Home Teachers," Jan. 9
"Saints and Soldiers," early 2004
ALSO
"The Legend of Johnny Lingo," Aug. 29
Cost-to-gross earnings for LDS-themed films
* Cost includes marketing costs; gross is U.S. box-office earnings
"God's Army" (2000)
— Cost: $300,000
— Gross: $2.6 million
"The Other Side of Heaven" (2001)
— Cost: $7 million
— Gross: $4.7 million
*(Played theatrically in every state but Rhode Island and West Virginia. Disney Home Video distributed on VHS and DVD.)
"Brigham City" (2001)
— Cost: $900,000
— Gross: $905,073
"The Singles Ward" (2002)
— Cost: $500,000
— Gross: $1.25 million
"Handcart" (2002)
— Cost: $300,000
— Gross: $98,666
"Jack Weyland's Charly" (2002)
— Cost: $950,000
— Gross: $813,685
"Out of Step" (2002)
— Cost: $700,000
— Gross: $80,000
"The R.M." (2003)
— Cost: $500,000
— Gross: $1.05 million to date
E-MAIL: nwarburton@desnews.com