The faith-based documentary The Jesus Music surprised the movie industry over the weekend by opening in the Top 10 and finishing fourth in per-theater average, edging out more well-known titles in a pandemic environment that has been challenging for studios.
The groundbreaking film finished No. 10 with an estimated $560,250 despite opening in only 249 theaters – a solid number when compared to the Top 5 movies, each of which were showing in 3,000-plus locations.
Even more impressive, The Jesus Music finished No. 4 in per-theater average ($2,250), trailing only Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($21,325), The Addams Family 2 ($4,280) and Chal Mera Putt 3 ($7,155), according to estimates.
The movie, directed by Jon and Andrew Erwin, follows the history of contemporary Christian music.
Its solid box office performance grabbed headlines.
“‘The Jesus Music’ Illuminates Specialty Box Office,” a Deadline.com headline read. The article called it “an incredible performance by yet another faith-based movie.”
The Wrap also highlighted the film’s performance.
“‘The Jesus Music’ Rocks the Box Office In Limited Release,” a story on TheWrap.com read.
Moviegoers gave it an “A” grade according to CinemaScore, which polls attendees on opening weekend.
The grade is in! Viewers gave @JesusMusicMovie an A this weekend. Congrats @Lionsgate and all your cast and crew! #CinemaScore pic.twitter.com/hx14cs3ir6
— CinemaScore (@CinemaScore) October 3, 2021
Mainstream critics, too, liked it, with RottenTomatoes.com rating it “fresh.”
Robert Morast of The San Francisco Chronicle gave it three out of four stars and wrote, “Unlike most of the genre's hand-raising fans, this film isn't afraid to point out Christian music's flaws and foibles.”
Ian Simmons of Kicking the Seat gave it four out of five stars and said the Erwins had “not only created one of the year's best and most enlightening films, I'm convinced they altered some of the neural pathways in my brain.”
The film was based on more than 300 interviews and features Eddie DeGarmo, Bill Gaither, Steven Curtis Chapman, Michael Sweet, Michael Tait, Amy Grant, LeCrae, Michael W. Smith, Mandisa, TobyMac, Kirk Franklin and Lauren Daigle, among others.
Related:
5 Things to Know about ‘Jesus Music,’ the Groundbreaking Film from the Erwin Brothers
Photo credit: Lionsgate
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
