The film āJesus Revolutionā more than doubled industry estimates, taking in over $15 million at the weekend box office and earning a third place finish overall.
Deadline reported that the story about the Jesus movement in the late 1960s and 70s was forecasted to earn between $6 million and $7 million in ticket sales.
The movie earned an A+ CinemaScore rating from movie goers and a 99 percent audience rating from Rotten Tomatoes, meaning the audience loved it, though critics gave it mixed reviews at 55 percent.
For āJesus Revolutionā director Jon Erwin, it was the fourth time one of his films earned an A+ rating, which CinemaScore President Harold Mintz pointed out is āunprecedentedā going back to when the firm began releasing results in 1986.
āJon Erwin has now achieved four A+ CinemaScores, more than any other filmmaker since we have been compiling data. For a director to achieve that accomplishment once is a rarity. But to hit that mark four times is not only an incredible distinction ā itās unprecedented,ā Mintz said, according to Collider.
Erwinās other three A+ films were āWoodlawnā (2015), āI Can Only Imagineā (2018) and āAmerican Underdogā (2021).
Did you or do you plan to see āJesus Revolutionā?
YesNo
Completing this poll entitles you to our news updates free of charge. You may opt out at anytime. You also agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Yes: 94% (61 Votes)
No: 6% (4 Votes)
šŗ Embedded media ā coming soon
Deadlineās Anthony DāAlessandro speculated the reason that ticket forecasting was so far off is that it has been a while since a Christian movie was in wide release at the box office, playing in nearly 2,500 theaters.
It earned an impressive $6,272 per theater, according to Box Office Mojo.
Additionally, Lionsgate, the filmās distributor, built word-of-mouth interest in āJesus Revolutionā through early screenings at churches and universities.
(This writer was in fact able to attend an early screening in Phoenix last week thanks to a church friend receiving complimentary tickets.)
Further, Jonathan Roumie, the actor who plays Jesus in the popular series āThe Chosen,ā portrays hippie pastor Lonnie Frisbee in the movie.
The Baptist Paper reported that Erwin talked about āJesus Revolutionāsā impressive opening weekend at Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, on Sunday, describing it as his company Kingdom Storyās āboldestā undertaking yet.
Lionsgate, he recalled, initially responded to the subject matter saying, āIf it works, weāre going to do a ton more of this,ā but, āIf it doesnāt, this may be your last.ā
āGod just showed up en masse this weekend with the church, and itās been amazing,ā Erwin said.
He couldnāt help believing itās Godās timing that the āJesus Revolutionās release came on the heels of a revival breaking out at Asbury University in Kentucky earlier this month. A similar outpouring happened in February 1970 during the heart of the Jesus movement.
Erwinās idea for the film came from a 1971 Time magazine cover titled, āThe Jesus Revolution.ā
It was about the last great spiritual revival in American history, which saw hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, come to faith nationwide.
In fact, the 1971 cover along with 1966 Time cover asking āIs God Dead?ā are both seen in the āJesus Revolutionā movie to illustrate the arc American culture made in a few short years.
Actor Kelsey Grammer stars in āJesus Revolutionā as California pastor Chuck Smith, who was one of the most prominent leaders during the Jesus movement.
Grammer told NBCās āTodayā that shooting the movie took him right back to his teen years in the late 60s and early 70s, when all of this was happening.
āWhat it reminded me most of ā¦ in our time, the love, the sense of community, the things that we all had, it was real, and I miss it,ā he said.
āWho knows?ā Grammer asked. āMaybe this film will bring some of that back. The light in peopleās eyes then was genuine and sincere, and there was a connection of faith that was extraordinary.ā
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.