Alabama-filmed ‘Jesus Revolution’ hits $50 million at box office

Alabama-filmed ‘Jesus Revolution’ hits $50 million at box office

“The Jesus Revolution,” a movie filmed primarily in Mobile, has now grossed more than $50 million at the box office since its release on Feb. 24.

After Palm Sunday weekend, the movie stood at $50,938,864, according to boxofficemojo.com. It was filmed on a budget of about $15 million by Kingdom Story, a company co-founded by Birmingham natives Jon and Andrew Erwin, and distributed by Lionsgate.

It stars Kelsey Grammar as a pastor who opened his Southern California church to hippies in the late 1960s, setting off a revival that spread nationwide. It also stars Anna Grace Barlow, a Mountain Brook High School graduate who grew up in the Birmingham area as the child of two physicians, Michael and Polly Anna Barlow.

It was shown in 2,575 theaters nationwide, much fewer than the 10 films ahead of it on the top-grossing films list of 2023.

“Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” which just passed it this weekend with $53.4 million at the box office since its March 17 release, has been showing in 4,071 theaters.

“Cocaine Bear,” released at the same time as “Jesus Revolution,” has shown in 3,571 theaters and grossed $63.7 million to rank ninth for the year. “Avatar: The Way of the Water” has shown in 4,340 theaters and is the top-grossing film of 2023 so far with $280.8 million U.S. box office and $681.8 million since its Dec. 16 release.

“Jesus Revolution” offered a more family-friendly option to the campy “Cocaine Bear,” a story about a bear that gets addicted to cocaine and begins attacking hikers after a drug shipment is dropped into the Smoky Mountains.

“I hope it’s a movie that makes you laugh and cry and I hope you get swept into the characters,” co-director and co-writer Jon Erwin told AL.com before “Jesus Revolution” hit theaters. “There really is a message here. We need this. We need this now. We need to remember how to love each other despite our differences.”

See also: ‘Jesus Revolution’ brings hippie youth revival history to life

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