Fox launches Christian film wing

Love's Abiding Joy is released in the US on 6 October

Christians in America are the target of FoxFaith, a home video label devoted to the country's church-going audience.

Encouraged by the box-office success of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, the 20th Century Fox unit will acquire Christian-themed films for DVD release.

It will also market the cinema release of up to 12 films a year through a deal with US distributor The Bigger Picture.

"We saw an opportunity to fill a need in an underserved market," said a 20th Century Fox spokesman.

The initiative will begin on 6 October with the release of Love's Abiding Joy - a western directed by Michael Landon Jr, son of the Little House on the Prairie star - in 250 cinemas.

Religious themes

The film explores the notion that some early American pioneers drew on their faith to help them survive the hardships of frontier life.

It is one of several films with religious themes hoping to tap into the audience that helped Gibson's retelling of the crucifixion story make more than $600m (£318m) worldwide.

They include Facing the Giants, a sports film about a struggling high school football team, and The Nativity Story, scheduled for US release in December.

A big-budget film version of Milton's epic poem Paradise Lost is also in the pipeline.