Five trends that defined the year in Bible movies
Animated Bible flicks, multiple Prime Video shows, multiple Jesus movies, David on screens both big and small, and a diverse range of formats and genres.
Was 2025 the busiest year for Bible movies (and TV shows) since the genre’s golden age in the 1950s and early 1960s? It sure felt like it at times. There were no big-budget movies on the scale of 2014’s Noah or Exodus: Gods and Kings, but there were quite a few success stories on screens both big and small, and an almost non-stop stream of films and shows that found new ways to tell the old, old stories.
Here, as the year draws to a close, are five particularly noteworthy trends.
Animation conquers the box office, comes to streaming
While live-action Bible shows were thriving on streaming services, the biggest Bible movies on the big screen were animated: The King of Kings came out in April and became one of the top-grossing “faith-based” or biblical movies of modern times—as well as the top-grossing South Korean production ever in North America—and then David came out a couple weeks ago and now seems certain be an even bigger hit. In the interim, a hand-drawn life-of-Jesus movie called Light of the World came to theatres in September, and The Chosen released an animated spin-off called The Chosen Adventures on Prime Video in October. And before any of these films or shows came out, Angel released the pilot for Gabriel and the Guardians, an in-development series that reimagines the early chapters of Genesis as an anime-style fantasy.
Prime Video dives head-first into the biblical genre
When the year began, Prime Video had released a few photos from House of David but no footage—not even a trailer. By the end of the year, they had released two full seasons1 (though the second one is currently available only in the US, through the Wonder Project add-on service). In February, Prime Video also got exclusive streaming rights to The Chosen, including early access to Season 5 (which dropped on Prime in June and then on The Chosen’s app in September), and they have since partnered with The Chosen on spin-offs like The Chosen Adventures, which came out in October, and Joseph of Egypt, which finished filming last month and is currently aiming for release in 2027. In addition, Prime Video’s corporate sibling Amazon MGM is going to give theatrical releases to The Chosen’s Season 6 finale and Season 7 premiere in 2027 and 2028. Other mainstream platforms have released the occasional movie (e.g. Netflix’s Mary) or TV special (e.g. Disney+’s Kevin Costner Presents: The First Christmas), but none have come close to that kind of investment in the Bible-movie genre.
Jesus movies pile up on the big screen
Jesus has been a recurring presence on the big screen over the past decade-plus—Son of God in 2014, Risen and The Young Messiah in 2016, The Shack in 2017, Mary Magdalene in 2018, special theatrical releases of The Chosen every year since 2021, Journey to Bethlehem and The Book of Clarence in 2023, etc.—but this year the Jesus movies really piled up, with The Last Supper, The King of Kings, and three instalments of The Chosen: Last Supper (i.e. Season 5) all coming out over a five-week period. At one point in April, there were three Jesus movies in the box-office top ten at the same time. And that was before Light of the World came out in September and The Carpenter’s Son, a horror movie based on the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, came out in October.
David hits screens both big and small
The year almost ended with yet another movie about Jesus (or at least his birth) called Zero A.D., but that film was bumped by another trend… the surge of films and TV shows about David! As noted above, Prime Video produced two full seasons of House of David this year, and in October, just a couple months before Zero A.D. was going to come out, Angel Studios bumped that film to make room for David, an animated musical that is now well on its way to becoming the top-grossing biblical film domestically since 2014’s Noah and the top-grossing animated biblical film since 1998’s The Prince of Egypt. In addition, the character had a cameo in The Chosen: Last Supper and a small part in The Solomon Saga—a “proof of concept” for a proposed series about David’s son Solomon, starring two veterans of The Chosen—and as the year drew to a close, Fox Nation released a trailer for David: King of Israel, a docudrama coming out early next year (starring a former King David as King Saul!).
The proliferation of genres within the genre
Perhaps the most encouraging development this year has been the proliferation of genres—the diversity of storytelling styles—within the Bible-movie genre. House of David had Tolkien-esque fantasy with its fallen angels, giant Nephilim, and epic supernatural showdowns; Testament set the book of Acts in an alternate version of the present day that had touches of dystopian sci-fi; The Promised Land found humour and humanity in the story of Moses by turning it into a deadpan mockumentary sitcom; David was a full-fledged animated musical; The Carpenter’s Son was an Exorcist-influenced coming-of-age horror movie; and the aforementioned Gabriel and the Guardians brought anime tropes to the early chapters of Genesis.
Next year looks to be less busy than this year, but perhaps we shouldn’t speak too soon: TV shows about David, the women of Genesis, and New Testament figures like Paul and the Virgin Mary are set to come out in the first half of the year, and there’s always the potential for even more shows to come along and surprise us.
Plus, there will be new episodes of The Chosen in the second half of the year, and—who knows?—maybe new episodes of some other shows, as well. After all, when the year began, we were expecting just one season of House of David to come out this year, not two. Anything can happen. Stay tuned.
Upcoming Bible movies and TV shows:
early 2026 — David: King of Israel (streaming: Fox Nation)
March 22-April 5, 2026 — The Faithful (television: Fox)
April-May 2026 — Martin Scorsese Presents: The Saints: Season 2 part 2 (streaming: Fox Nation)
second half of 2026 — The Chosen: Season 6: Episodes 1-6 (streaming: Prime Video)
sometime in 2026 — Zero A.D. (theatrical: Angel Studios)
March 12, 2027 — The Chosen: Season 6: Finale (theatrical: Amazon MGM)
March 26, 2027 — The Resurrection of the Christ: Part One (theatrical: Lionsgate)
May 6, 2027 — The Resurrection of the Christ: Part Two (theatrical: Lionsgate)
sometime in 2027 — Joseph of Egypt (streaming: Prime Video)
March 31, 2028 — The Chosen: Season 7: Premiere (theatrical: Amazon MGM)
no release date specified — Jacob (theatrical: Angel Studios)
no release date specified — The Promised Land: Season 2 (streaming)
who knows when Malick will finish it — The Way of the Wind (theatrical)
House of David is not the first series to be made about Saul and David, but it is the first to get a second season. Earlier shows like 2009’s Kings and 2016’s Of Kings and Prophets were cancelled after one season each.