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I Can Only Imagine (film)
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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
J. Michael Finley
Madeline Carroll
Trace Adkins
Priscilla Shirer
Cloris Leachman
Dennis Quaid
Tanya Clarke
Music by
Brent McCorkle
Cinematography
Kristopher Kimlin
Edited by
Andrew Erwin
Brent McCorkle
Production
companies
Kevin Downes Productions
Mission Pictures International
Distributed by
Lionsgate
Roadside Attractions[1]
Release date
March 16, 2018 (2018-03-16)
Running time
110 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$7 million[2]
Box office
$85.1 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.
Contents
[hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Reception
4.1 Box office
4.2 Critical response
5 References
6 External links
Plot[edit]
Coming from a home with an abusive father, 10-year-old Bart Millard is dropped off at a Christian camp by his mother, where he meets Shannon. Upon his return from camp, Bart finds his mother has left and movers are removing her belongings, leading to a physical confrontation with his father Arthur, who takes custody of him.
Years later, Millard is in Lakeside high school and dating Shannon. Hoping to impress his father, he begins playing football. However, he is injured, breaking both ankles and ending his career. In order to make up the credits he would miss from football, he signs up for music class, the only available class left. Initially, Millard is assigned to be a sound technician. After the director catches him singing in the empty auditorium of Lakeside high school, she casts him as Curly, the lead role in the school production of Oklahoma. He doesn't tell his father of his role in the play, and while Bart has risen to the singing demands of the part, Arthur subsequently collapses with severe abdominal pain, but refuses to tell Bart or Shannon about his cancer diagnosis. The following morning, Millard voices his frustrations with his father and is assaulted by his father, who smashes a plate over his head. Shannon presses Bart to open up, but he responds by breaking up with her and leaving to seek his fortune in the city after graduation.
Millard then connects with the band who would become MercyMe, and eventually attracts the attention of Christian music producer Scott Brickell (Trace Adkins), who coaches Millard and gets them a showcase in Nashville, leading to meetings with Amy Grant (Nicole DuPort) and Michael W. Smith (Jake B. Miller). Millard has been unable to reconcile with Shannon, who rejects his invitation to tour with the band to their upcoming Nashville showcase. While the band felt their performance was the best of their career, industry representatives reject the band as not being good enough to sell records. In despair, Millard quits the band. After talking with Brickell, who encourages him to resolve his issues with his father, Millard rejoins the band but asks they wait for him to confront his father and settle the conflict before they play again.
Millard returns home and is greeted enthusiastically by his father, who prepares breakfast for him the next morning. His father claims to have become a Christian, but Bart is initially skeptical and rejects his father's offer to start over. In anger, Arthur takes a baseball bat and hits his old Jeep, which he had hoped to repair with his son. As Bart prepares to leave, he finds out his father has terminal cancer. Bart and his father reconcile and form a deep bond before Arthur dies of his illness.
After his father's funeral, Millard rejoins the band and writes "I Can Only Imagine". 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. The band accepts Grant's offer. Millard is seated in the audience when Grant intends to unveil the song live in concert. However, Grant decides that Millard should be the one to sing the song, and offers it back to him, calling him to the microphone to sing it before the large audience. Millard's unexpected performance is wildly applauded and he reunites with Shannon, who had also been in attendance at the concert. The band releases the song as their first single, achieving success on Christian and mainstream radio.
Cast[edit]
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
J. Michael Finley as Bart Millard
Brody Rose as Young Bart
Dennis Quaid as Arthur Millard, Bart's father
Tanya Clarke as Adele
Cloris Leachman as Meemaw, Bart's grandmother
Madeline Carroll as Shannon, Bart's girlfriend
Taegen Burns as Young Shannon
Trace Adkins as Scott Brickell, MercyMe's manager
Priscilla Shirer as Mrs. Fincher, Bart's teacher
Nicole DuPort as Amy Grant
Jake B. Miller as Michael W. Smith
Mark Furze as Nathan
Production[edit]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2018)
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[edit]
Box office[edit]
As of May 13, 2018[update], I Can Only Imagine has grossed $82.4 million in the United States, and Canada and $1.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $83.5 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]
The film 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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).[11] In its second weekend the film was added to 624 additional theaters and dropped just 19% to $13.8 million, again finishing third.[12] It was added to another 395 venues and finished fourth in its third weekend, making $10.4 million (including $3 million on Easter Sunday).[13] The film was released on iTunes and Google Play on June 5, 2018, and on DVD and Blu-ray on June 12, 2018.
Critical response[edit]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 71% based on 24 reviews, and an average rating of 6/10. 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."[14] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 29 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[15] 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.[9]
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."[16] 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."[17]
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c 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.
^ Jump up to: a b c "I Can Only Imagine (2018)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
Jump up ^ 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.
Jump up ^ Staff Reports (December 2, 2016). "MercyMe hit song turning into Okie production". NewsOK. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
^ Jump up to: a b 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.
Jump up ^ Galuppo, Mia (August 14, 2017). "Lionsgate, Roadside Acquire Faith-Based Drama 'I Can Only Imagine'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Biopic - Music Movies at the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
Jump up ^ 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.
^ Jump up to: a b 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.
Jump up ^ 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.
Jump up ^ "Box Office: 'I Can Only Imagine' Revives Faith-Based Genre". The Hollywood Reporter. March 20, 2018. Retrieved March 20, 2018.
Jump up ^ 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.
Jump up ^ 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.
Jump up ^ "I Can Only Imagine (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
Jump up ^ "I Can Only Imagine Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
Jump up ^ 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.
Jump up ^ 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.
External links[edit]
Official website
I Can Only Imagine on IMDb
I Can Only Imagine at the TCM Movie Database
I Can Only Imagine at AllMovie
I Can Only Imagine at Box Office Mojo
I Can Only Imagine at History vs. Hollywood
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