To answer your question specifically, religious movies (that is, movies created for Christian audiences) “seem” to be so popular because there is a subset of Christian movie goers that is very predictable, and it takes very little to appeal to them.
I don’t think this points to anything at all. The first article lists 5 movies, 4 of which are “bliblical” and speculates about their success. A risky move for anyone. I’ll speculate that the grosses on these films will be higher than one would think considering their quality, but in the end, they won’t ignite a resurgence of Christianity, though they will make Christians feel a little better as they slip away into history.
The next article describes the success of an indie movie from six years ago. It’s a single, mild success, most likely buoyed by the fact that Christians in America are dwindling in numbers and feel the need to rally around things more often, to justify their own existence. Christians point to it as proof that they are still relevant, when in fact, it’s pretty much the opposite.