The Bible is useful to cinema

There are Christian filmmakers out there who make terrible Christian films that few people watch. These are sometimes successful in a niche market, but they do not cross over. There are a lot of filmmakers over the last several years who have attempted to create films that appeal to both religious and secular audiences alike. There are even some secular filmmakers who give a nod to the Christian community, or at least intend not to offend them. It is in most cases more profitable for the studios to produce films that regard faith positively because there are so many people of faith in the audience. Here is a list of some religious films that made it big.

http://filmsnobbery.com/blog/the-50-most-important-religion-films-of-all-time/