Movie: The “Great Warning”: A Horrifying Grace, by Kevin Wells

One of the unfortunate realities of “Catholic movies” crossing the Rubicon and making it onto America’s big screens is the temporality of its moment. The pattern so often unfolds like this: A few big-hearted folks, who cherish a movie’s message and inspirational storyline, start a grassroots movement that convinces a theater manager to “allow them” a screening room for a night or two. Through their grit, the big-hearted folks manage to fill the theater, where a few hundred folks are brought closer to Christ—until, presto, their “Catholic movie” is jettisoned as quickly as a one-liner from Iron Man and the $400 million budget that does well to pay Mr. Downey, Jr.

Mostly gone are the days of quaint, Catholic, award-winning box office hits like A Man For All Seasons, It’s a Wonderful Life, and The Bells of St. Mary’s, that not only remained in theaters, but are still shown throughout the world today.

You will remember, though, that Sound of Freedom shocked the system. Although the movie certainly wasn’t quaint, the Catholic-heavy stable of actors and producers put together a film that grossed more than $250 million on its way to becoming one of  Hollywood’s top-grossing movies in 2023. …