Jesus; Jesuses; Jesus³; Jesus Resurrection; Jesus vs Predator

April 2, 2007 4:16 PM

A Christian group claims that "Jesus" is the most-watched movie of all time. They cite the New York Times, July 22 2003 article titled "1979 Bible Film is the Most-Watched Movie of All Time", on page "1AR". Looking through the New York Times's archives, both on the web and microfilm, I can't find the article; only an obituary for William R. Bright which mentions the film without making the claim in question. Is the article they cite real? What does AR refer to? Also, is the claim accurate?
posted by thirteenkiller to media & arts (11 answers total)

A BBC article. It sounds like it's a standard tool for missionaries.
posted by smackfu at 4:29 PM on April 2, 2007

Jesus statistics from "The Jesus Film Project" ... and an excerpt from the Wikipedia article:

According to the New York Times,[1] The Jesus Film is the most-watched motion picture of all time.[2]

The Jesus Film has been viewed almost 5.5 billion times (including repeat viewings). This is based on:

* The number of translations (971) of The Jesus Film in DVD, VHS, and audio-only formats.
* The number of showings by the Jesus Film Project's volunteer film teams, who have presented the film in 228 nations.
* Over 230 million people have indicated decisions to receive Christ after viewing the film.

A more detailed statistical breakdown can be accessed at the Jesus Film Project's statistics page.

It doesn't go into methodology, but I doubt the NYTimes article will provide any elucidating information. The "including repeat viewings" is probably key. It looks like they arrived at estimates based in facts. It would be impossible to tell if someone viewed it (or what constitutes as a viewing of the film).

So depending on your criteria it would be appear very likely it is one of the most watched film of all time. Given the content and form of the film it is not really appropriate to categorize it in the same space as other films.
posted by geoff. at 4:30 PM on April 2, 2007

I don't know about that article, but the NYT did do an August 16 2005 piece on it titled "Trying to Put Jesus in Every Mailbox."
posted by phoenixy at 4:31 PM on April 2, 2007

I remember this movie from my childhood. Seems to me that the film's viewership would be very low were they not counting all of the people who've been forced to watch it against their will. Myself included.
posted by miss lynnster at 5:21 PM on April 2, 2007

I found a New York Times article (TimesSelect required?) on this subject, albeit from February 8, 2004. All it does is repeat the claims of the Jesus Film Project, and quote others who cast doubt on these claims:

As a result, a great many people have seen the film. How many? The Jesus Film Project reports that as of last January, the film had been viewed 5,057,743,333 times. At one viewing per person, that would be almost 80 percent of the world's population. Asked how the number could possibly be that large, Mr.Eshleman explained that it included repeat viewings; for the number of individual audience members, he revised the estimate -- all the way down to three billion people, or a mere 46 percent of the global population.

Not all his colleagues are convinced. 'These numbers are, to say the least, not gathered in a social-scientific way,' says Vinay Samuel, executive director of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Mission Theologians. 'They have no way of knowing this.'

If the very same groups that provided that figure in the first place are claiming that the NYT corroborates them in a story like this one, let's just say that I don't think that's something Jesus would do.
posted by grouse at 5:33 PM on April 2, 2007

Also, I'm extremely disappointed in the BBC for being so credulous.
posted by grouse at 5:35 PM on April 2, 2007

grouse writes "Also, I'm extremely disappointed in the BBC for being so credulous."

Does it involve numbers, statistics, or any sort of science? If it does, the 'C' in BBC might as well stand for credulity.
posted by mr_roboto at 6:04 PM on April 2, 2007

Not directly answering your question, but this may interest you. Check out this reference-- don't have the text this article on me, but this is cited in Jesus of Hollywood by Adele Reinhartz in reference to more people knowing about Jesus through film than from any other medium. William R. Telford, “Jesus Christ Movie Star: The Depiction of Jesus in the Cinema,” in Explorations in Theology and Film: Movies and Meaning, ed. Clive Marsh and Gaye Ortiz (Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 1998), 122.
posted by perpetualstroll at 6:37 PM on April 2, 2007

I got about five free copies of this when I lived in Austin. During certain high-distribution seasons, it seemed that the stairwell of just about every student apartment complex was littered with still-shrink-wrapped copies that students had pitched as soon as they got their mail.

I suspect the numbers of viewings are inflated.
posted by jayder at 7:00 PM on April 2, 2007

You might find How To Lie With Statistics interesting.
posted by buriedpaul at 8:09 PM on April 2, 2007 [1 favorite]

I knew Peter Sykes, the director. His other significant film was To the Devil a Daughter. I always presumed he got the gig to make a matching set - To God a Son.
posted by A189Nut at 6:31 AM on April 3, 2007