Family & Faith films score at the box office. The numbers don’t lie.

The success of Rio, Hop and Soul Surfer continue to point to strong audience demand for family-oriented and faith-themed entertainment.

In its second weekend in release, Soul Surfer, the true story of a champion teen surfer who was sustained and inspired by faith after losing her arm in a shark attack, brought in another $7.4 million, bringing its two-week total fo $20 million.

“Audience support is phenomenal,” says AFFIRM Films Vice President Rich Peluso, adding “Ticket sales exceed expectations, and 96 percent of audiences rate it ‘excellent’ or ‘very good.’ That’s a whole lot of families and teens having a great time at the movies.”

More family films coming to a TV near you, courtesy of P&G and Walmart. Though Saturday’s Fox Network telecast of the partnership’s latest effort Truth Be Told failed to make a dent in the ratings, the four previous films (Secrets of the Mountain, The Jensen Project, A Walk in My Shoes and Change of Plans) all did pretty well — well enough to inspire the ordering of five more films that will air on NBC.

The next movie, Field of Vision, is currently scheduled to air Saturday, June 11th on the Peacock Network. Other yet-to-be named films are set for August 6th and September 3rd (both Saturdays). As of now, the two remaining movies have not received air dates.

Here’s a thought. How about NBC just turn over Saturday night to P&G and Walmart come fall and let them program the night with their family-oriented programming? Secrets of the Mountain, The Jensen Project and A Walk in My Shoes were all backdoor pilots and would make a pretty strong line-up — especially on a night which in recent seasons has been relegated to mostly airing reruns of hour-long crime dramas  from the previous week. The night could also be used to run more P&G/Walmart family movie specials.  The network would gain a cost-effective night of original  programming. P&G/Walmart would gain a regular outlet for the films and series while also promoting their brands. Viewers would gain by getting a night of traditional television that the whole family could watch together. As Charlie Sheen would say, Winning!

Encourage one another and build each other up – 1 Thessalonians 5:11