Much like a group of hippies unexpectedly flocked to hear the preaching of Chuck Smith in the late 1960s and early 1970s, during the opening weekend of “Jesus Revolution,” a surprisingly large number people journeyed out to see the movie, helping it bring in over $15 million at the box office.
Some are now saying that God is using the film to draw people to himself.
According to early projections, the movie starring Kelsey Grammer (Chuck Smith), Jonathan Roumie (Lonnie Frisbee), and Joel Courtney (Greg Laurie) was only set to bring in $6-7 million on its opening weekend.
The film also received an A+ CinemaScore, the fourth time director Jon Erwin has received the honor. Erwin’s other films that earned the A+ score were “I Can Only Imagine,” “American Underdog,” and “Woodlawn,” all three of which were co-directed with his brother Andrew. Erwin co-directed “Jesus Revolution” with Brent McCorkle.
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“Jon Erwin has now achieved four A+ CinemaScores, more than any other filmmaker since we have been compiling data,” Harold Mintz, President of CinemaScore said. “For a director to achieve that accomplishment once is a rarity. But to hit that mark four times is not only an incredible distinction—it’s unprecedented. Congratulations to Jon and Brent McCorkle and the entire team at Kingdom Story Company.”
“Jesus Revolution” also received a 99% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviewers are praising the film, with one writing, “I laughed, I cried! It was such an inspiring and uplifting movie—very well done! The acting was phenomenal. Love to have good quality movies to go see!”
Another encouraged people to go see the movie, saying, “Don’t rob yourself of the blessing!”
On Sunday (Feb. 26), Erwin told “Fox & Friends Weekend”’s Rachel Campos-Duffy that just like the people were spiritually desperate in the late 1960s and early 1970s, “We’re desperate again.”
“So I wanted to make a movie that filled people with hope and that was enjoyable to watch and entertaining,” Erwin said, sharing that of all the films he has made, this is his most “favorite film to watch with an audience.”
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Erwin and his wife visited Asbury University during its spontaneous, 15-day, non-stop worship service that sparked the curiosity of our nation and world, drawing over 100,000 people to the small campus of 1,600 students.
