The faith-based film “Jesus Revolution” opened in theaters this past weekend to much success, surpassing expectations and finishing third at the box office with an estimated $15.5 million. The film follows Greg Laurie in the 1970s as he searches for truth and meaning on the West Coast and meets a young evangelist, Lonnie Frisbee.
Producers Jon Erwin and Brent McCorkle, as well as star Kelsey Grammer, encouraged Christian audiences to vote for more positive, faith-filled content at the box office and to bring their non-believing friends to theaters.
The film received a 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and an A+ CinemaScore, the first time in history that a director has scored four A+ CinemaScore Grades since the company publicly released the results in 1986. Erwin previously received A+ for the faith-based films “I Can Only Imagine,” “American Underdog” and “Woodlawn.”
Ahead of the movie’s official theater release in over 2,400 theaters, Lionsgate organized church screenings and university screenings that attracted tens of thousands of viewers. Erwin shared how the film has uplifted and encouraged pastors, describing the film as “very, very authentic.”
“The fact that Lionsgate let us make a movie called ‘Jesus Revolution’ is astounding and a miracle,” he said. “For every story that our industry tells of a pastor gone bad, televangelists, whatever, there’s 10,000 pastors doing great work on the ground all across America. I think the American pastor is one of the most … under-celebrated, under-seen jobs in American society that binds us together. And they’re doing great work. And a lot of times those stories are not told.”
The success of “Jesus Revolution” on opening weekend marks a significant moment in the faith-based film industry, with Deadline calling the film’s success “miraculous.” The film has sparked conversations and challenged traditional church culture, and all eyes are now on its continued success in the weeks to come.
