Box Office Shocker: 'Jesus Revolution' Surpasses $40 Million, Lionsgate's Best Movie Since '19
The faith-based film “Jesus Revolution” continues to defy the odds at the box office, surpassing $40 million in sales domestically as it prepares to open overseas.
According to Box Office Mojo, the movie went over the $40 million mark on Monday and stood at approximately $41.5 million as of Wednesday.
“The numbers are incredible, especially coming out of a pandemic,” Kevin Downes, producer of “Jesus Revolution,” told Christian Headlines.
MovieGuide reported that “Jesus Revolution” is the highest-grossing film for distributor Lionsgate since its 2019 release of the murder mystery “Knives Out” starring Daniel Craig, Chris Evans and Jamie Lee Curtis.
“Jesus Revolution” beat Lionsgate’s best film since then — 2021’s “The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard” starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson — which earned just over $38 million domestically.
“Jesus Revolution” opened on Feb. 24 with over $15 million in sales and a No. 3 ranking at the box office overall.
It was in the No. 7 spot this past weekend, still showing in over 2,500 theaters nationwide, more than at its opening.
“Jesus Revolution” will be heading overseas in the coming weeks, opening in Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and New Zealand.
Actor Jonathan Roumie (known for his portrayal of Jesus in the series “The Chosen”) plays hippie pastor Lonnie Frisbee in “Jesus Revolution” and says the lessons of the film are timeless.
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“It’s about faith, it’s about hope and redemption and finding your identity in God,” Roumie told Christian Headlines.
“It’s the great human conundrum. It’s the great question we all ask ourselves: What am I doing? Why am I here? What is my purpose?” he continued.
“And every generation has that and gets distracted from God. … When people come to the realization that God is their identity, God is behind their identity, everything falls into place.”
According to The Baptist Paper, co-director and co-writer Jon Erwin talked about “Jesus Revolution’s” impressive opening weekend at Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama, last month, describing the movie as his production company Kingdom Story’s “boldest” undertaking yet.
He recounted that Lionsgate initially responded to the subject matter by saying, “If it works, we’re going to do a ton more of this,” but “if it doesn’t, this may be your last.”
“God just showed up en masse this weekend with the church … and it’s been amazing,” Erwin said.
He couldn’t help believing it was God’s timing that the release of “Jesus Revolution” came on the heels of a revival breaking out at Asbury University in Kentucky in early February. A similar outpouring happened in February 1970 during the heart of the Jesus movement.
Erwin’s idea for the film came from a 1971 Time magazine cover story titled “The Jesus Revolution.” It was about the last great spiritual revival in American history, which saw hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, come to faith nationwide in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Kelsey Grammer stars in “Jesus Revolution” as California pastor Chuck Smith, one of the most prominent leaders of the Jesus movement.
Grammer shared on NBC’s “Tonight Show” last month how he decided to take the role, seeming to suggest God’s hand may have been in it.
Grammer, who is known for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane in “Cheers” and “Frasier,” told “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon, “The truth is I was having sort of a meditative evening one night in my home, and I was up pretty late. It was about 3, 4 in the morning.”
“And I started to think, ‘I want to do something worthwhile, something that has a bigger purpose than just me.’ And I was kind of saying a prayer, I guess. And the next morning the script lands on my door. And I read it and I said, ‘OK, that’s it. I’m doing this Jesus story.’”
“It’s a sign,” Fallon said.
Grammer seemed to agree, saying, “It’s pretty cool.”
