Christian-based love story to battle ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ at box office

By now almost everyone has heard of “Fifty Shades of Grey,” the movie based on the books by E.L. James. In just one week, the official trailer has over 20 million views, leaving no doubt that the screen adaptation has a huge fan following and is sure to fill plenty of seats in the theaters.

Known for its explicit sexuality, “Fifty Shades of Grey” is about the developing relationship between a young college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and successful businessman Christian Grey. The erotic narrative will be released in theaters on Valentine’s Day 2015, but it will not be the only romance released that day.

“Old Fashioned” is a different kind of romance backed by Christian production company Working Title Agency. In contrast to the world of sexual domination in “Fifty Shades of Grey,” “Old Fashioned” shows a far more traditional idea of love and relationships, as the characters agree to wait to be intimate until marriage, something that can seem impossible in today’s society.

A Modern Day “David and Goliath”

In a recent interview with The Daily Mail, the director of “Old Fashioned,” Rik Swartzwelder, commented on the shared release date, saying, “Opening the same weekend as Fifty Shades, there’s definitely a David v. Goliath comparison.”

This biblical reference seems to be quite fitting for the situation, considering the differences between the two films. First of all, the approximate $40 million budget of “Fifty Shades of Grey” from Universal Pictures and Focus Features is sure to overshadow the smaller production costs of “Old Fashioned,” especially since Universal and Focus spent $5 million alone on the rights to the “Fifty Shades” book series.

As far as content, these two films couldn’t be more different. The book series, “Fifty Shades of Grey,” depict many elements of dominating sexual relationships, and there are no plans to hold back when it comes to bringing the extremely graphic nature of James’ novels to the screen. “Fifty Shades of Grey” reportedly will be released with an R rating along with an NC-17 version.

A Different Perspective

While “Fifty Shades of Grey” shies away from the idea of a romantic relationship in favor of a purely physical one, “Old Fashioned” is far more concerned with what Swartzwelder refers to as a “higher standard in relationships.”

With a focus on courtship and building a relationship with the help of God, “Old Fashioned” hopes to encourage and empower those with Christian values, especially those who are single.

Swartzwelder is not only aware of the cinematic contest, but also acknowledges his film as the underdog. “They will have more screens, more money, more hype,” the director told The Daily Mail. “But we’re hopeful that we are not alone in our belief that there are others out there who desire more from love — and the movies — than objectification or domination.”

Films of Faith

“Old Fashioned” is not alone in the category of religious-themed movies. Christian-based films have had impressive success at the box office so far this year. Working Title released another film about faith earlier in March, “God’s Not Dead,” about a Christian college student who challenges his atheist philosophy professor to say that God does, indeed, exist. With a budget of just $2 million, this film has made over $60 million to date.

An article on OK.com from April, “Religious-themed films find home in Hollywood,” discusses the unusually high number of movies based on religious beliefs and the success they have seen.

Whether people agree with the messages they portray or not, movies with a foundation of faith have found a place amid the big blockbusters. Time will only tell how “Old Fashioned” will perform against the Goliath “Fifty Shades of Grey.”