I Can Only Imagine (film)

I Can Only Imagine
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Erwin Brothers
Produced by
  • Cindy Bond
  • Kevin Downes
  • Daryl Lefever
  • Mickey Liddell
  • Pete Shilaimon
  • Raymond Harris
  • Joe Knopp
Screenplay by
  • Jon Erwin
  • Brent McCorkle
Story by
  • Alex Cramer
  • Jon Erwin
  • Brent McCorkle
Based on The life story of
Bart Millard
Starring
Music by Brent McCorkle
Cinematography Kristopher Kimlin
Edited by
  • Andrew Erwin
  • Brent McCorkle
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release date
  • March 16, 2018 (2018-03-16)
Running time
 110 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $7 million[2]
Box office $85.4 million[2]

I Can Only Imagine is a 2018 American Christian drama film directed by the Erwin Brothers and written by Alex Cramer, Jon Erwin, and Brent McCorkle, based on the story behind the MercyMe song of the same name, the best-selling Christian single of all time.[3] The film stars J. Michael Finley as Bart Millard, the lead singer who wrote the song about his relationship with his father (Dennis Quaid). Madeline Carroll, Priscilla Shirer, Cloris Leachman, and Trace Adkins also star.

I Can Only Imagine was released in the United States on March 16, 2018. It grossed $85 million worldwide against a production budget of $7 million, and is the third highest-grossing music biopic of all-time in the United States. Some critics praised it as inspiring and noted it as an improvement compared to other faith-based films, while others called it flat and by-the-numbers.

Plot

10-year-old Bart Millard lives with his mother and abusive father Arthur in Texas. One day his mother drops him off at a Christian camp where he meets Shannon. Upon his return from camp, Bart finds his mother has left and movers are removing her belongings. He angrily confronts his father, who denies that his abusiveness was the reason she left.

Years later, in high school, Bart and Shannon are dating. Bart plays football to please his father, but is injured, breaking both ankles and ending his career. The only elective with openings is music class, so he reluctantly signs up. Initially, Bart is assigned to be a sound technician, but after overhearing him singing, the director casts him in the lead role in the school production of Oklahoma. Bart overcomes his reluctance and gives an impressive performance, but does not tell his father, who finds out the night of the show when he happens to see a flyer for the show in a diner. Arthur suddenly collapses in pain, and finds out he has cancer, which he hides from Bart. The following morning, Bart antagonizes his father, who smashes a plate over his head. At church, Shannon sees the blood and presses Bart to open up, but he responds by breaking up with her, and leaves town to seek his fortune in the city.

He joins a band in need of a singer, and convinces Christian music producer Scott Brickell to manage the band and secure a showcase in Nashville. Bart surprises Shannon and invites her to tour with the band, and is confused when she flatly refuses. In Nashville, Brickell introduces Bart to established artists Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, but is unable to convince several record execs to sign the band, who do not believe the band, now performing as "MercyMe", is good enough. Devastated, Bart quits the band, but Brickell perceives that Bart needs to resolve issues in his personal life, so Bart reconciles with the band and asks them to wait for him, and leaves to return home.

Bart returns home late at night and is confused to find that his father has prepared breakfast for him the next morning. His father claims to have become a Christian, but Bart is skeptical and refuses to forgive him, and leaves. In anger and despair, Arthur smashes his old Jeep, which he had asked Bart to help him restore. Bart attempts to drive away in his father's pickup, but discovers the terminal cancer diagnosis, and returns to his father. He finally forgives his father, and the two form a deep bond, but Arthur soon dies of his illness.

After Arthur's funeral, Bart rejoins the band and writes "I Can Only Imagine", and also calls Shannon and apologizes for the first time since their breakup. Brickell sends the demo tape to several artists, including Grant, who, deeply moved by the song, asks to record it herself as her next single, and Bart, who just wants the song to be heard, accepts. Grant begins the song, but can't bring herself to sing it, and calls Bart on stage from the audience to sing it himself. Bart's performance earns an enthusiastic ovation, and he reunites with Shannon, who was also in attendance. The band releases the song as their first single, achieving success on both Christian and mainstream radio.

Cast

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Production

The film was announced in December 2016.[4] Dennis Quaid joined the cast in January 2017.[5] Broadway actor J. Michael Finley makes his film debut as Bart Millard.[1] The same month, it was announced that the film was slated for release in the spring of 2018.[5] In August 2017, Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions signed on as distributors for the film for a nationwide release in the United States.[1][6]

Reception

Box office

As of June 24, 2018, I Can Only Imagine has grossed $83.4 million in the United States, and Canada and $1.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $85.2 million, against a production budget of $7 million.[2] It is the third-highest grossing music biopic of all-time in the United States, behind Straight Outta Compton and Walk the Line.[7] It is also the highest-grossing independent film of 2018.[8]

I Can Only Imagine was released on March 16, 2018, alongside Tomb Raider and Love, Simon, and was originally projected to gross $2–4 million from 1,620 theaters in its opening weekend.[9] However, after making $6.2 million on its first day (including $1.3 million from Thursday night previews), weekend estimates were increased to $14 million.[10] It ended up grossing $17.1 million, exceeding expectations and finishing third at the box office behind Black Panther and Tomb Raider. 67% of the opening weekend audience was female while 80% was over the age of 35.[11] It was the fourth best-ever opening for a faith-based film, following The Passion of the Christ ($83.8 million), Son of God ($25.6 million) and Heaven Is for Real ($22.5 million).[12] In its second weekend the film was added to 624 additional theaters and dropped just 19% to $13.8 million, again finishing third.[13] It was added to another 395 venues and finished fourth in its third weekend, making $10.4 million (including $3 million on Easter Sunday).[14]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 63% based on 27 reviews, and an average rating of 5.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "I Can Only Imagine's message will have the most impact among Christian audiences, but overall, its performances and storytelling represent a notable evolution in faith-based cinema."[15] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 30 out of 100, based on 8 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[16] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale, one of fewer than 80 films in the history of the service to earn such a score.[10]

The Arizona Republic's James Ward gave the film 4/5 stars and wrote, "Too often faith-based films — say anything with Kirk Cameron or the terrible God's Not Dead series — tend to preach to the choir or hector their audience. The Erwins’ films — I Can Only Imagine definitely among them — are more inclusive, charitable of spirit and hopeful, all qualities that are always appreciated, be they rooted in Christian faith or otherwise."[17] David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a "C–" saying: "There’s a reason why all of these movies are so amateurishly made; why they all end with links to religious websites; why they all look like they were shot on an iPhone by a Walmart-brand Janusz Kaminski who lit each interior like the white light of heaven was streaming through every window...Art can be affirmation, but affirmation cannot be art."[18]

Home media

The film was released on iTunes and Google Play on June 5, 2018, and on DVD and Blu-ray on June 12, 2018.[19][20]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
People's Choice Awards November 11, 2018 The Family Movie of 2018 I Can Only Imagine Pending [21]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Anita, Busch (August 14, 2017). "Faith-Based 'I Can Only Imagine' Picked Up By Lionsgate & Roadside Attractions". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 "I Can Only Imagine (2018)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  3. ↑ Ryan, Patrick (March 13, 2018). "How did 'I Can Only Imagine' become the biggest Christian hit ever (and inspire a movie)?". USA Today. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  4. ↑ Staff Reports (December 2, 2016). "MercyMe hit song turning into Okie production". NewsOK. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Busch, Anita (January 5, 2017). "Faith-Based Film 'I Can Only Imagine' With Dennis Quaid, Cloris Leachman And Trace Adkins Eyes Spring 2018 Release". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  6. ↑ Galuppo, Mia (August 14, 2017). "Lionsgate, Roadside Acquire Faith-Based Drama 'I Can Only Imagine'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Biopic - Music Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  8. ↑ Erbland, Kate. "The 20 Highest Grossing Indies of 2018 (A Running List) – IndieWire". IndieWire. Retrieved June 24, 2018.
  9. ↑ Fuster, Jeremy (March 13, 2018). "Will 'Tomb Raider' Be the Movie to Finally Knock 'Black Panther' From Box Office Perch?". TheWrap. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  10. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 16, 2018). "'Black Panther' Poised For $460M+ In Profit; 'I Can Only Imagine' Surprises – Box Office Update". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
  11. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 18, 2018). "'Black Panther' Keeps B.O. Treasure From 'Tomb Raider'; How 'I Can Only Imagine' Hit A $17M High Note". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Box Office: 'I Can Only Imagine' Revives Faith-Based Genre". The Hollywood Reporter. March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
  13. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 25, 2018). "Does 'Pacific Rim: Uprising' Break Even At The Global B.O.?; 'Black Panther' Sets Marvel Record – Sunday Postmortem". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  14. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 1, 2018). "How Warner Bros. Sold 'Ready Player One' On The Spielberg Spirit & Beat Tracking With $53M+ 4-Day – Sunday Postmortem". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  15. ↑ "I Can Only Imagine (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  16. ↑ "I Can Only Imagine Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
  17. ↑ Ward, James (March 15, 2018). "Faith-based drama 'I Can Only Imagine' doesn't just preach to the choir". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  18. ↑ Ehrlich, David (March 21, 2018). "'I Can Only Imagine' Review: A Christian Rock Biopic Shows Why Faith-Based Films Struggle to Convert Secular Audiences". IndieWire. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  19. ↑ June 5 Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital Releases Comingsoon.net, Retrieved June 22, 2018
  20. ↑ I Can Only Imagine Blu-ray Blu-ray.com, June 22, 2018
  21. ↑ USA TODAY Life staff (2018-09-24). "People's Choice Awards 2018: The nominees". USA Today. Retrieved 2018-09-26.
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