'I Can Only Imagine' Biopic Stuns With a Surprising $17 Million Opening Weekend
The faith-based biopic "I Can Only Imagine," based on an equally popular Christian song, hit a high note at the North American box office during its opening weekend with $17.1 million.
Variety revealed that the latest estimates for the film directed by brothers Andrew and Jon Erwin started strong at the $2 million to $8 million range. It also reportedly ended up as the top per-site average among all the films released this weekend with $10,476. It also got a rare A+ CinemaScore among the movie goers.
The family drama from Roadside Attractions, which centers on the real-life story of Christian rock band MercyMe frontman Bart Millard and his relationship with his father Arthur Wesley Millard Jr., showed early signs of having a good box-office start after earning $1.6 million and pre-sales. Its promo trailer also had a whopping 130 million views since its release.
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Roadside Attractions co-president Howard Cohen said that the strong box-office result of the film can be credited to the overwhelming support from churches and groups as well as from MercyMe who continuously promote the film on their social media account. However, they never expected that the movie that only has a budget of $7 million during its production would be that big.
"We knew that it was going to do well but we never expected a $17 million opening," Cohen said. "We're planning to be on well over 2,000 screens next weekend," he added.
Cohen also said in a press release that the film became their highest-grossing opening in history. He also attributed the success to the massive popularity of the MercyMe song where the film was based from, the talent of the Erwin brothers, as well as the exceptional acting skills of the cast including lead stars Dennis Quaid and J. Michael Finley.
The Erwin brothers also expressed their gratitude over the film's success. "God's hand has been on this song and on this story from the beginning. We are delighted to see a story about forgiveness and redemption connect with so many people. We are humbled for the privilege of telling Bart's story," Andrew Erwin stated. On the other hand, Jon Erwin said that they were privileged to see the movie have a powerful engagement with its audience.
Because of its weekend success, "I Can Only Imagine" landed in the third place of the domestic box office charts. It ended just behind the "Tomb Raider" reboot and Marvel's "Black Panther."
